Warriors: Rise of ThunderClan: The Wind's Fury
by GeneralWildfire
Summary: ThunderClan has been left in ruins after being attacked by the other three clans several moons ago. Now a prophecy has been given to the leader and medicine cat: "Three sparks shall set the forest ablaze, and ThunderClan will rise..."
1. Prologue

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series.**_

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><p><strong>The Clans<strong>

_ThunderClan_

Leader: Foxstar- reddish tabby tom

Apprentice: Loudpaw- brown tiger stripe with white feet, underbelly, and tail tip

Deputy: Moonpelt- black tom (son of Lionblaze)

Medicine Cat: Jayfeather- gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

Warriors:

Icecloud- white she-cat

Rosepetal- dark cream she-cat

Bumblestripe- gray tom with black stripes

Hawkwing- long haired, brown tabby tom with one white paw, and blue eyes

Dawnstep: pale gray tabby she-cat

Mousewhisker: gray & white tom

Apprentice: Ashpaw- gray tom

Queens:

Brightfrost- beautiful white she-cat

Blazekit- ginger tom with one white paw

Elders:

Cloudtail- long haired white tom, with blue eyes oldest cat in ThunderClan

Berrynose- cream colored tom

Cinderheart- gray tabby she-cat oldest she-cat in ThunderClan

_ShadowClan_

Leader: Dawnstar- cream furred she-cat

Deputy: Redbird- mottled brown and ginger tom

Apprentice: Snakepaw- tortoiseshell she-cat

Medicine Cat: Flametail- ginger tom

Warriors:

Tigerheart- dark brown tabby tom

Owlwing- light brown tabby tom

Olivenose- tortoiseshell she-cat

Apprentice: Duskpaw-black & white she-cat

Frogspots- brown & white tom

Blackwhisker- black she-cat

Apprentice: Toadpaw-brown tom

Raventail- black tom with two white paws

Specklefur- white tom with small black spots

Queens:

Darkpoppy- dark brown she-cat

Shadekit- dark brown tom

Pouncekit- white she-cat

Sunkit- ginger she-cat

Rowanheart- calico she-cat

Blackkit-black tom

Elders:

Tawnypelt- once pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

Crowfrost- black & white tom

Ratscar- brown tom with long scars down his back

Ivytail- tortoiseshell & white she-cat

_WindClan_

Leader: Thistlestar- long haired white tom

Deputy: Sunstrike- tortoiseshell with large white mark on face

Medicine Cat: Kestrelflight- mottled gray tom

Warriors:

Emberpelt- ginger & white tom (Son of Breezepelt- descendant of Windstar)

Apprentice: Badgerpaw- black & white tom

Morningbreeze- gray she-cat

Breezefoot- tabby she-cat

Apprentice: Mistpaw- white she-cat

Swiftwind- black & white tom

Runningcloud- white tom

Apprentice: Springpaw- light brown she-cat

Gorsewhisker- gray tom with darker stripes

Darktail- brown tom with black tipped tail

Barkpelt- brown tiger-stripe tom

Queens:

Flowerstep- calico she-cat

Icekit- white tom with ginger splotches & a crooked jaw

Spiderkit- black tom

Mistpelt- pale gray she-cat

Spottedkit- tortoiseshell she-cat

Elders:

Breezepelt- black tom

Heathertail- light brown tabby she-cat

_RiverClan_

Leader: Minnowstar- dark gray she-cat

Deputy: Sneezestorm- gray & white tom

Medicine Cat: Podtail- black & white tom

Warriors:

Pebblefur- mottled gray tom

Copperpelt- dark ginger she-cat

Apprentice- Otterpaw-brown

Stonetail- dark gray tom

Apprentice- Ravenpaw- gray-blue she-cat

Mistfur- gray & white she-cat

Reedclaw- black tom

Mallowtooth- light brown tabby tom

Nettleclaw- dark brown tabby tom

Apprentice: Pinepaw- brown tom

Stormwing- dark gray tabby tom

Apprentice: Chirppaw

Mosswhisker- brown tom

Queens:

Motheyes- pretty tortoiseshell she-cat

Mintkit- pale gray she-cat

Berrykit- white she-cat

Bluewater- gray-blue she-cat

Streamkit-gray tom

Silverkit- pale gray tom

Whitekit- white she-cat

Rockkit- brown tom

Ripplenose- black & white she-cat with a scarred nose

Waterkit- gray blue tom

Elders:

Willowshine- gray tabby she-cat former Medicine Cat

Icewing- white she-cat with blue eyes

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><p><em><strong>Prologue<strong>_

A reddish tabby tom's dreams were being plagued, once again, by that terrible day. The yowls of fear and pain from his clanmates still clawed at his heart.

That day, ThunderClan had been attacked by the other three clans. Many brave cats had been lost including: Bramblestar, Lionblaze, the elders Graystripe and Millie, and many other brave cats.

The dream shifted and he was gazing on his clan. They were few in number, and they had lost much of their original territory. He was always trying to show the other clans they were strong, but they never succeeded. He felt like the other clans would strike again if they got too strong.

The dream changed again, he was lying at the edge of the Moonpool. Three cats sat in front of him: Bluestar, Firestar, and Bramblestar, their starry pelts shimmering in the moonlight.

The reddish tabby tom, leapt to his paws and snarled, "I've begged you to help our clan and you pick now to show yourselves to me?"

"Peace, Foxstar," Bluestar mewed. "There is a prophecy." Foxstar pricked his ears forward, eager to here more.

Firestar meowed, "Three sparks shall set the forest ablaze, and ThunderClan will rise…"

"What?" Foxstar yowled, angry once more. "Must more tragedy befall my clan before it is healed?"

Bramblestar meowed quietly, "Our prophecies are not always easy to figure out."

Foxstar hissed at his former leader. He spat, "I don't need riddles and neither does ThunderClan!"

"Peace, Foxstar," Bluestar mewed once again, but in a more commanding tone. "The prophecy shall reveal itself in time."

Foxstar spat, enraged, and leapt at the starry cats.

He was jolted awake, and he hissed in frustration. He could not tell his clan about the prophecy; it held no hope for them.

Meanwhile, in the nursery, a gray tom was monitoring a white queen and her single kit. He was surprised when his sightless eyes suddenly saw the kit; a ginger tom with his left paw being white. His world suddenly plunged back into darkness, and a familiar she-cat's voice said to him, "Three sparks shall set the forest ablaze, and ThunderClan will rise." The gray tom realized with a jolt that he had seen the first spark; for the kit before him had been named Blazekit by his mother.


	2. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series.**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter One<strong>_

A fierce white and ginger colored tom ripped through the ranks of the enemy cats that dared to harm his clan. With his right paw being ginger colored along with the top of his head, his chest, his right flank, and a ginger splotch on his left side; he was the fiercest warrior to ever set foot in the clan territories. Even with his crooked jaw his bite was to be feared.

He smirked with satisfaction as the enemy retreated. He leapt up onto a rock and yowled, "Fear me enemies of –Clan, for I am Ice-!"

"Icekit," His mother meowed, prodding him gently with one paw.

"No!" Icekit wailed. That was not how he had wanted his dream to end. He felt his brother, Spiderkit, stirring beside him.

Spirderkit yawned, stretching beside Icekit, his black pelt quivering in certain spots. He mewed, "What in StarClan's name were you dreaming of? I was being kicked so many times it wasn't funny!"

"I was dreaming of being the greatest warrior WindClan has ever seen!" Icekit meowed happily. A thought drifted into his mind, you didn't hear what clan you belonged to. He shook his head back and forth. He knew that he would always be loyal to WindClan; he was a direct descendant of Windstar after all, not to mention his great grandfather was Crowfeather, one of the four legendary cats that had led the clans to the lake where they all lived. How could he be loyal to any other clan but WindClan?

As he got to his paws and stretched, his mother, Flowerstep, licked his twisted jaw.

Flowerstep was a beautiful calico she-cat and Icekit was proud to be her son. Icekit and his brother had been born during a drought. The closest water had been at the lake, so his mother, with the help of a warrior had carried him and his brother down to the lake to drink. Flowerstep had been carrying him with the utmost care, but when her paw got caught in a small hole, she had accidentally released his scruff and he had fallen to the ground, breaking his jaw. Icekit's jaw had eventually healed, but it would always be twisted. His mother had never forgiven herself for breaking his jaw, but there were some days that Icekit felt that she didn't care for him as much either because of his disfiguration.

When Icekit had finished stretching, Spiderkit asked, "Flowerstep, can we go outside and play?"

Flowerstep nodded, and Icekit and Spiderkit took off with meows of delight.

Spiderkit was the first to dash out of the nursery, a gorse bush against a boulder. Icekit tore after his brother, but he collided with a ginger and white warrior.

The warrior steadied him with his muzzle and gave him a gentle lick, "All right there, Icekit?"

Icekit nodded at his father, Emberpelt. He was mostly a ginger color, but his belly, paws, and tail tip were white. Emberpelt was nowhere near as bad tempered as Icekit's grandfather, Breezepelt, who now resided in the elders' den.

Emberpelt purred as he shoved Icekit aong after Spiderkit. Icekit always hoped that he was his father's favorite, but he didn't dare ask. He knew that his mother's favorite was Spiderkit.

Icekit glanced after his father as Emberpelt padded over to a group of warriors near the center of the camp before he took off after Spiderkit again.

Spiderkit called from near the edge of camp, "Bet you can't beat me!" He leapt at Icekit.

Icekit dodged to the side, and leapt up onto his brother's back, gripping his shoulders gently, yet firmly, with unsheathed claws. Spiderkit tried to dislodge him by rolling onto his back, but Icekit leapt off quickly. Moving in, he paced his paws on Spiderkit's exposed belly and meowed, "Beat you!"

Before Spiderkit could respond, an angry voice hissed, "Would you two keep it down?"

Icekit got off Spiderkit and faced Breezepelt, whose features were only just visible in the elder's den, which used to be a badger's set.

"Spiderkit mewed as Breezepelt glowered at them, "We're sorry, Breezepelt."

Breezepelt merely snorted in disgust, while a gentler voice meowed, "Let them be, they're still only kits."

Heathertail's light brown pelt was visibe as she pointed out, "Remember they've only got a quarter moon to go before they're apprentices."

"Not soon enough," Breezepelt growled softly as he settled down into his moss nest.

Spiderkit ignored Breezepelt, and instead focused on Heathertail, "Just you wait! Icekit and I will be the greatest warriors of WindClan ever!"

"Yeah!" Icekit chimed in. "Spiderkit will be deputy and I'll be clan leader one day!"

Icekit got the response he'd been hoping for from his brother. Spiderkit growled playfully and lunged at him. They both rolled away from the elders' den, play hissing as they went.

They rolled into the middle of the camp, and Icekit managed to leap away from Spiderkit, and hissed playfully, "I'm a ThunderClan warrior, what are you going to do about it?"

"This!" Spiderkit sprang at Icekit.

Icekit instinctively rolled to the side to avoid Spiderkit. Once Spiderkit had landed, Icekit leapt onto his shoulders and clung there as Spiderkit twisted and turned trying to dislodge him. Spiderkit finally reared onto his hind legs and made to topple over. At the last second, Icekit leapt off, and pinned Spiderkit to the ground where he had fallen.

"Get off you great lump!" Spiderkit meowed, pawing at Icekit's shoulder.

Icekit leapt off and licked his right paw, drawing it over his ears, trying to calm himself as Spiderkit got up and meowed, "I swear Emberpelt's been giving you private lessons!"

"No, I haven't!" Emberpelt meowed as he approached them, having been only a few leaps away. "Well done, Icekit! You'll make a great warrior!"

Icekit raised his tail proudly into the air.

Spiderkit whined, "What about me?"

"I'm positive that you'll be the best hunter in the clan!" Emberpelt mewed quietly, licking the top of Spiderkit's head. Spiderkit puffed out his chest, and his tail went into the air. He turned his attention back to Icekit and pounced on him without warning, another play fight ensuing.


	3. Chapter 2

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series.**_

_**Also, I apologize for my mess up but Moonpelt is actually gray not black as I have his fur color listed as in the prologue, sorry about the mistake!**_

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><p><strong><em>Chapter Two<em>**

Blazekit opened his eyes sleepily, and yawned, his tiny jaws opening wide to reveal his tiny teeth, before he drew his left white paw over his head, dislodging a piece of moss that had been stuck in his fur. He tried to remember the dream he had had, but only fragments came to him. Blazekit tried to sort them out, Jayfeather…stars…two shadowy cats…and fire… That's the last time I eat any prey before going to bed! Blazekit stood up, feeling a bit irritable that he could only remember those fragments of the dream. Stretching, his tail accidentally brushed against his mother's white fur, waking her.

His mother, Brightfrost, mewed groggily, "What are you doing, Blazekit?"

"Just stretching my legs," Blazekit mewed as he made to go out of the den. "I can't sleep anymore."

"Okay," Brightfrost replied, lowering her head back down onto her paws, "Just be careful."

Blazekit nodded, "Yes, Brightfrost." Padding out of the den, and into the dark camp, the sun not having risen yet, Blazekit gazed around the camp, though his gaze rested on the Medicine Cat's den where he was surprised to see Jayfeather moving about in his den. Curious as to what Jayfeather might be doing, he headed across the clearing, but before he could enter the den he heard movement from across the camp, and he hid in the shadows as his father, Foxstar, walked towards Jayfeather, the reddish tom having just emerged from his den.

Foxstar meowed something that Blazekit couldn't hear, so he cautiously crept a bit closer towards the entrance to Jayfeather's den, keeping in the shadows so he could listen in on the conversation.

Foxstar meowed quietly, "Are you positive Blazekit is a part of the prophecy?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Jayfeather spat irritably. "I'm just as sure he's a part of the prophecy as all the other times you've asked! It's the other two cats that are a part of the prophecy that I'm not sure of!"

Foxstar looked anxious, "The other two cats will probably have something to do with fire in their names as well…and the only two that have anything with fire in their names are…"

"Flametail of ShadowClan and Emberpelt of WindClan," Jayfeather finished, still sounding irritated.

"They can't be the two," Foxstar meowed, sounding defeated. "Why would veteran warriors join up with our clan and help us?"

Jayfeather flicked his leader's shoulder with his tail, "The prophecy shall reveal itself in time."

"We don't have time!" Foxstar snarled, unsheathing his claws. "Our Clan is stronger than it has been in moons, and all of the warriors are expecting an attack any day now, and you expect me to wait for a stupid prophecy to unfold!"

Jayfeather argued, "We're not constantly looking over our shoulders waiting for the other clans to attack us, we know it's only a matter of time, what we're waiting for is something that can help us to get back the territory we lost and to help us get back to our former strength, and the prophecy promises that with the three sparks!"

"I know what the prophecy says!" Foxstar hissed. "Three sparks shall set the forest ablaze and ThunderClan will rise, pheh!" Foxstar swatted at some of the dirty moss Jayfeather had in a corner, far away from where his patients would rest. "If our clan gets any stronger than it already is, we'll be slaughtered again by the other clans!"

Jayfeather mewed quietly, "I remember as well as you do…but we must have faith in StarClan!"

"No," Foxstar's fur lay flat and he began to back out of the den, "I have no faith in them anymore…they didn't warn us about the other three clans attacking us, and now they give us a prophecy that holds little hope for my clan…I merely go through the motions now to keep my clan happy…that's all I can seemingly do for them."

Blazekit's eyes widened in shock as Foxstar left the den, Foxstar doesn't have any faith in StarClan? Is that the reason for our clan's suffering? Would StarClan punish a whole clan for its leader's beliefs? He was startled out of his thoughts as Jayfeather flicked his tail at him as he padded out of his den, beckoning for Blazekit to follow him.

Stepping tentatively out of the shadows, Blazekit approached the grouchy, blind tom, unsure of the old cat's intentions.

Jayfeather purred in amusement, "I knew you were there the entire time, though I don't promote eavesdropping either." His blind gaze became stern. "But you needed to hear the prophecy since Foxstar refuses to let the clan hear it. However, you are different from the rest of the clan since you ARE a part of it."

"But…why me?" Blazekit questioned, suddenly feeling like the fate of the clan was on his shoulders. "I'm nothing special!"

Jayfeather wrapped his tail around him, "Every cat is special in StarClan's eyes, from the smallest of kits, to the noblest of cats, from the deaf to the blind, StarClan favors all, but sometimes they have to pick cats to help the clans that they have left behind, some are fire that will save the clan." Blazekit's eyes lit up immediately, knowing the prophecy that had been about ThunderClan's legendary leader, Firestar. "To some that were destined to lead us here to the lakes," Blazekit's eyes seemed to shine brighter at the reference to the six cats that made the great journey. "To some that are destined to have the power of the stars in their paws," Blazekit stared at Jayfeather wide-eyed, recalling that Jayfeather was the only remaining cat from that prophecy. "To some that are destined to help their clans rise…consider it StarClan's way of reminding us that even though they can help us, they're still just a bunch of dead cats."

Blazekit's mouth fell open at how disrespectful Jayfeather had just been, and he was grateful that the tom was blind so he couldn't see Blazekit's disbelief at his tone.

"All cats are special," Jayfeather stated, before he stood up. His tone changed to its usual grouchy tone, "Now get back to the Nursery!"

With a purr, Blazekit bolted away in mock terror of the blind tom, and he flopped down outside the Nursery as he concentrated, I'm a quarter moon away from becoming an apprentice, that's the best way to help my clan, as a warrior! He gazed around the clearing focusing on the Warriors' den, were some of the warriors were starting to emerge for the dawn patrol. But who will be my mentor?

Foxstar emerged from his den once again to join the other two warriors that were now waiting near the entrance to the camp. Blazekit stood up and started to creep towards them to hear what his father was saying to the warriors, when he felt teeth meet his scruff. Hissing in both alarm and anger, he struggled against whoever had picked him up.

"Calm down," a muffled voice mewed. "It's me, Loudpaw!"

Blazekit relaxed, and allowed the brown tiger-striped tom to carry him back to the Nursery entrance, though he was a bit irritated that Loudpaw had caught him eavesdropping on his father.

Loudpaw set him down, and swiped at paw over his ears, "You're heavier than you used to be, Blazekit! And what were you trying to do?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Foxstar meowed, making both of the younger cats jump in surprise, neither of them having heard their leader's approach. A large, gray tom, and a dark cream colored she-cat flanking him on either side.

Blazekit flattened his ears against his head, feeling uncomfortable as he mewed, "I wanted to hear what you were saying…"

Foxstar sighed and licked the top of Blazekit's head, "We're patrolling the ShadowClan border, while we assess Loudpaw's skills."

Loudpaw straightened up proudly as the gray tom meowed good-naturedly, "But if he keeps meowing like that, we'll never be able to patrol any borders."

Loudpaw glared indignantly at the gray tom, while the others purred in amusement.

Blazekit gazed admiredly at the gray tom, Moonpelt would make a good mentor for any cat! He's a strong, loyal deputy, but he's not too strict! He glanced at the dark cream colored she-cat, Rosepetal…I'd pity any cat that got her for a mentor! She can never seem to sit still!

Rosepetal kneaded the ground impatiently with her claws, "Can we go already? I'm ready to go!"

Foxstar and the others purred with amusement as they padded towards the entrance to the camp. Blazekit watched the patrol until they were out of sight, a longing rose in his chest. He wanted to yowl, "Take me with you!" but he resisted the urge. He turned his gaze to the Elder's den as he heard movement from it. Seconds later, a white tom stepped out and stretched in a patch of sunlight.

The tom glanced at him and purred as he continued to stretch, "Morning, Blazekit!"

"Morning, Cloudtail," Blazekit mewed. He must be in a good mood this morning; usually he's grouchy from stiff joints!

Cloudtail finished his stretch and purred happily, "I haven't seen a day like this in moons!"

Blazekit purred with the old tom, agreeing with him completely. Glancing around the clearing once again, he sighed, I can't wait till I'm an apprentice!

His mother called softly from the den, "Blazekit, come back in here, please!"

Blazekit padded back into the nursery and curled up against his mother's side, purring, though he felt exhausted once again.

Brightfrost purred, "Did you get the tickle out of your paws?"

"Yeah," Blazekit mewed, cuddling against his mother's fur; he was soon asleep once again.

Blazekit was wandering through the camp, but it wasn't HIS camp, it was totally devoid of cats, and nothing really looked familiar. He released a pitiful wail, wanting his clanmates and his own, familiar camp. He stopped when he saw two shadow cats, step out of the bushes, their eyes alight.

These were truly shadow cats, Blazekit couldn't distinguish any of their features. He backed up cautiously, and he nearly leapt out of his skin as a raspy voice said, "Don't be afraid young kit."

He whirled around. "Who are you?" Blazekit demanded, his fur fluffed out making him appear twice his size.

The old cat released a raspy purr, "I'm Yellowfang of ThunderClan, I was the medicine cat before Cinderpelt."

Blazekit slowly relaxed, he had heard many tails of Yellowfang from the elders, Blazekit gestured with his tail at the two shadow cats, "Who are they?"

"They are ThunderClan's allies," Yellowfang meowed cryptically. "Eventually their features will become clear to you."

Blazekit questioned, "But why aren't you showing this to Jayfeather or Foxstar?"

Yellowfang looked at him steadily, her squashed face looking kind, "Foxstar will no longer commune with StarClan, and Jayfeather is still wide awake…" She suddenly looked annoyed, "That nosey tom already knows about these two!" She gestured with her tail to the two shadow cats.

Blazekit stared at the build of the shadow cats, not that that helped him figure out who they might be, "Will I know these allies when I see them?"

She purred, Perhaps…if you know the path StarClan has picked for you."

"How can I?" Blazekit questioned.

Yellowfang began to fade from his sight, her pelt looking starry by the second, "Don't you find it odd that you're being visited by a medicine cat?"

Blazekit opened his eyes as he heard his mother's mew, and he looked around, taking in the familiar den. He blinked in surprise as his gaze rested on Icetail, a pretty white she-cat who was also Foxstar's sister.

Blazekit questioned, "Why are you in here?"

"I'm going to have kits soon!" Icetail purred. "Moonpelt is so happy!"

Brightfrost licked the white she-cat's cheek, "They'll be beautiful kits…"

"They'll have some of Firestar's blood," Icetail added proudly.

Blazekit chimed in, "I do too!"

Icetail licked him between his ears, "Yes you do, little one."

Blazekit scowled, "I'm going to be an apprentice soon!"

Icetail purred, "But until you are, you'll be a little one to us."

"And you'll always be my little one," Brightfrost added, licking his cheek.

Queens! Blazekit thought as he sighed before he stood up, glancing at his mother, "May I go outside?"

"Yes," Brightfrost meowed as she stood up and stretched. "I think we both need some fresh air."

Blazekit padded eagerly outside, and he immediately scanned the clearing for some of his clanmates.

He spotted Mousewhisker, a gray and white tom, leading his apprentice, Ashpaw, a solid gray tom, out of the camp for training. Glancing towards the Warriors' den, he spotted Bumblestripe, a gray tom with black stripes, talking to Hawkwing, a brown tabby tom with one white paw, and Dawnstep, a pale tabby she-cat.

Blazekit gazed thoughtfully at the group of warriors, while his mother made her way across the clearing towards Foxstar's den. Bumblestripe wouldn't be a bad mentor, he knows a lot about hunting… His gaze shifted to Hawkwing, Hawkwing, on the other paw, is a fierce fighter, and even though he's older than Dawnstep he's never had an apprentice… His gaze rested on Dawnstep, Danwstep would be a good mentor, even though she is one of the youngest warriors…

A pleasant mew said from the direction of the Elders' den, "How are you today, Blazekit?"

Blazekit turned around and purred at the gray tabby she-cat, "Fine, Cinderheart."

A cream colored tom pushed his way out of the den and sat down, "Aren't you supposed to be doing something other than sitting around chatting?"

Cinderheart swatted the ton's ear, "I invited him over, Berrynose!"

Cloudtail padded out of the den and meowed, "Leave the kit alone, we enjoy seeing him around here!"

Berrynose snorted, and retreated into the den stiffly.

"Don't mind him," Cinderheart meowed. "It still irks him that he had to retire early from being a warrior due to his injuries from…" She broke off as her eyes got a glazed over look as she saw horrors from moons ago.

Blazekit pressed his nose comfortingly against the elderly she-cat's flank, I know what she meant…the battle where most of our clan was slaughtered…no elder or kit was even spared. He glanced at Hawkwing, he lost his sister and two brothers along with his father and mother with her unborn kits. Blazekit pulled away from Cinderheart and shivered as he recalled all the stories he'd heard about that terrible day. He shivered again as he recalled his father's words, If our clan gets any stronger we'll be slaughtered again! He sighed as he looked towards the Medicine Cat's den, where Jayfeather was just emerging from its depths. Blazekit dashed towards him with a hurried bye to Cinderheart and Cloudtail, and he called out, "Jayfeather! Can I help?"

Jayfeather nodded as he led the way out of the camp, padding quickly into the forest.

Blazekit followed, gazing at Jayfeahter in admiration, Even though he can't see, he's so confident in where he sets his paws! His gaze then swept around the forest in awe, "What are we gathering?"

Jayfeather stopped and turned his blind gaze on him, "Thyme."

"What's it for?" Blazekit inquired, cocking his head to one side.

Walking once more, Jayfeather muttered, "To help calm anxiety and frayed nerves."

Blazekit followed him slowly, keeping the tom's tail in sight, Did he hesitate before telling me that?

Jayfeather stopped at the roots of an oak tree and began to tear off several leaves from the ends of some of the plants growing there.

Blazekit opened his mouth and tasted the air. The thyme plant gave off a unique scent, and he decided that he should memorize it, just in case.

The sun was setting as the pair returned to camp, Blazekit dragging his paws.

Jayfeather meowed past his bundle of thyme, "Leave your load there. I'll get it. Go rest."

Blazekit blinked gratefully at the medicine cat before he began to drag his paws to the Nursery.

Just as he was about to enter the Nursery's warm confines, Foxstar yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"

Brightfrost padded out of the Nursery and licked the top of Blazekit's head. Wearily, Blazekit followed her.

He gazed around the clearing and spotted Loudpaw in the center, his head raised proudly. This must be his warrior ceremony!

Foxstar raised his gaze to the first stars of Silverpelt that had begun to appear, "I, Foxstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ansccetors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend him to you as a warrior." He gazed down at Loudpaw, "Loudpaw, do you promise to protect and defend this Clan even at the cost of your life?"

Loudpaw said solemnly, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Loudpaw, from this moment onward you will be known as Loudfang. StarClan honors your loyalty and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Foxstar leapt down and rested his muzzle on top of Loudfang's bowed head. Loudfang bent his head lower and licked Foxstar's shoulder respectfully before he straightened up and joined the other warriors.

The entire clan began to raise their voices in welcome of the new warrior, "Loudfang! Loudfang!"

Blazekit raised his own voice, calling his friend by his new name, "Loudfang!"

The new warrior turned his gaze to him and blinked warmly.

A dark thought entered Blazekit's mind, and he turned away, padding back to the Nursery, Will StarClan really recognize him as a warrior if Foxstar doesn't even believe in what he's saying?

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><p><em>I hope for the chapters to remain this length or longer, but a few might not be since I wrote them down in a notebook and those always tend to be longer than when typed on a computer. Thanks for any feedback!<em>


	4. Chapter 3

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Three<strong>_

The ginger and white warrior yowled, "Fear me enemies of –Clan, I am Ice-!"

He didn't get the chance to finish as his dream changed, confusing Icekit, who found himself in a grassy clearing, a starry group of cats was gathered only a few paw steps away.

"Who will guide him?" One of the starry cats questioned.

Another spoke up harshly, "A WindClan cat of course!

"No," a starry blue furred she-cat meowed loudly. "He must be guided by a cat that will show no prejudice! A cat that will only help him to know the Warrior Code so he may make his own choices!"

The cat who had spoken before, a tom with a twisted paw and mud colored pelt snarled, "Are you saying that a WindClan warrior would not guide him down the right path?"

"Considering that WindClan is the strongest Clan around the lakes, yes," the blue-gray she-cat stated her gaze cold.

The mud colored tom snarled, but said nothing as a large, white tom cat stepped forward, "I will guide his paw steps and help him understand the Warrior Code if you will permit it."

The blue-gray she-cat yowled, "Is it agreed that Whitestorm should be the one to guide this cat?"

Gradually, the clearing rang with yowls of approval, though a few cats remained silent.

The white tom, named Whitestorm dipped his head respectfully to the gathered cats before he padded out of the group right up to Icekit, who trembled in fear. I shouldn't be here! The terrified kit thought.

Whitestorm licked him between the ears, and mewed, "Don't be afraid. I will help you."

Icekit sat bolt upright, his heart pounding as light flooded into the Nursery.

Spottedkit, who was nestled against Mistpelt's gray side, blinked groggily and murmured, "Are you okay, Icekit?"

"Yeah," Icekit mewed, licking his chest fur, trying to calm himself down as the tortoiseshell kit went back to sleep.

Spiderkit sat up suddenly beside him and purred, "Good, you're up!"

"Why?" Icekit questioned eyeing his brother warily.

"You know that badger that's been scented near the camp?" Spiderkit meowed, a glint in his amber eyes, "What if we chased it off? Than Thistlestar will have to make us apprentices earlier!"

Icekit nodded, seeing the sense of his brother's plan, his eyes blazing, a chance to help my Clan!

Spiderkit glanced at the slumbering Flowerstep and Mistpelt before he beckoned with his tail for Icekit to follow him as he crept out of the Nursery through a small hole in the Nursery wall. Icekit followed him cautiously, glancing back one last time at Flowerstep and Mistpelt before going through the hole.

Spiderkit mewed in an undertone as Icekit emerged from the Nursery, "When I say run, run over that hill. No one will notice us since the wind will be blowing towards us and away from the camp!"

Icekit nodded and waited patiently for his brother to give the word, Spiderkit watching the warriors' movements intently. He hissed suddenly, "Run!" Taking off like a shot, Icekit hot on his paws and easily overtaking him.

Icekit slid to a halt once he was over the top of the hill, out of sight of the Clan.

Spiderkit plowed into him, bowling Icekit over and they rolled the rest of the way down the hill.

"We made it!" Spiderkit meowed triumphantly, untangling himself from Icekit. Glancing around, he added, "Let's go!"

Icekit got to his paws, giving himself a quick shake, before he followed Spiderkit.

As they searched for the badger, Icekit began to have some doubts about finding the badger, much less driving it off. What was I thinking? This is against the Warrior Code!

Spiderkit finally said, sounding dejected, the sun high in the sky, "We're not going to find it… Let's head back…"

Suddenly, a nasty snarling sounded from a gorse bush in front of them. A black and white snout appeared, followed by a massive black and white head.

Spiderkit fluffed his fur out, trying to appear larger, and hissed, though he sounded pathetic due to how terrified he was.

The badger released a ferocious snarl and Spiderkit took off running, Icekit right on his tail.

Icekit couldn't believe how quickly they made it back to camp entrance, nor how close the badger still was to them.

Sliding to a halt, Icekit yowled a battle cry, facing the badger, unwilling to let it get into the camp where it could attack the vulnerable Clan. Spiderkit, hearing Icekit whirled around and yowled his own battle cry, standing beside Icekit.

The badger lunged forward, its jaws wide enough to easily swallow one of them whole; Icekit and Spiderkit dodged to either side, each taking a swipe at the badger's maul. The badger swung its head, knocking Spiderkit to the ground.

Spiderkit wailed in terror as the badger loomed over him, ready to take the black kit into its jaws.

Icekit yowled, "No!" Leaping into the air, aiming at the badger's head, and he made it, locking his crooked jaw onto the badger's ear.

The badger roared in pain and fury, rearing up onto its hind legs, swinging its head violently.

A familiar sound reached Icekit's ears, sending hope into his chest as he kept his jaws locked on the badger's ear; the sound of battle ready WindClan warriors.

The badger swung its head again and Icekit flew into the air, colliding with the ground where he lay winded.

His eyes registered the color of the different warriors pelts: Flowerstep's calico pelt, Emberpelt's ginger and white fur, Thistlestar's white pelt, and Sunstrike's tortoiseshell fur.

Thistlestar dashed in quickly and raked his claws across the badger's left side. As the badger swung its head towards him, Emberpelt slashed the badger's right side. When the badger turned to face him, Sunstrike darted in and nipped the badger's neck. Rearing up in fury, the badger exposed its stomach, which Flowerstep soon raked her claws across, yowling, "That will teach you to threaten my kits!"

The badger got back down on all fours and started to lumber off.

"Now!" Thistlestar yowled.

A tabby she-cat, a black and white tom, and a white tom shot out of the camp entrance, heading directly towards the badger, nipping at its hind legs to keep it moving.

Icekit forced himself to his paws, and gazed after the warriors, wishing he was one of them, but now I'll be lucky if I'm ever made a warrior…

Flowerstep bounded over to Spiderkit, who was trembling on the ground, and sniffed him over before giving the black kit a gentle lick between the ears before she dashed over to Icekit, giving him a quick lick as well. She mewed, "You two had me so worried! What were you two thinking?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Thistlestar practically growled as he approached them.

Spiderkit, who had padded over to his brother and mother, scoffed the ground with his right paw, "We wanted to drive the badger away…we didn't want to lead it to the camp!"

Sunstrike meowed as she stepped forward, "Take it easy on them. You have to admit that they fought well against that badger." She gazed at Icekit warmly, "I've never seen a kit hang on to a badger's ear like that."

Icekit blushed, while Spiderkit glared at him, jealous of the praise his brother had received.

"This is true," Thistlestar meowed, looking at both brothers. "They both stood and fought against the badger…and we do need more warriors…" He looked thoughtful before he spoke directly to both kits, "You'll be made apprentices at moonrise, but until then, you are to clean out the bedding in the Nusery and the Elder's den. Breaking the Warrior Code is not something to be proud!"

"Yes, Thistlestar," Icekit and Spiderkit meowed in unison, dipping their heads respectively to their leader.

Once Thistlestar and his deputy had gone back into camp, Spiderkit purred and raised his head and tail proudly, while Icekit lowered his own, we broke the Warrior Code..why should we be rewarded? The excitement of being made an apprentice overcame his shame, oh well! I'm going to be an apprentice…and a quarter moon early!

Just then, the three warriors that had been chasing the badger returned, most of them looking triumphant.

The white tom, Runningcloud yowled happily, "Success! We drove it right into ThunderClan territory!"

"They'll have no idea what hit them!" The tabby she-cat, Breezefoot purred.

Icekit felt something brush against his pelt, like a ghost cat, and he couldn't help remembering his dream. He nearly jumped as a low voice asked him, soft as a whispered breeze, "Is it right? No warning given to the other Clan that they now have a badger on their territory?" A prickle of guilt swept through Icekit's fur as he silently answered, no…

As the two other cats went into the camp, the black and white tom, Swiftwind, paused beside Emberpelt, and sighed, saying quietly, "I truly wonder why we keep attacking an already weakened Clan…" He shook his head, "It goes against everything in the Warrior Code…"

"Don't let Thistlestar catch you saying things like that," Emberpelt warned, brushing against Swiftwind comfortingly. It was obvious that both toms were of the same opinion.

Spiderkit piped up, "But isn't it good to keep ThunderClan weak and in their place?"

"Not through such under-pawed tactics," Emberpelt argued. Spiderkit merely glared at him, but didn't argue further.

Swiftwind set his tail on Emberpelt's shoulder before he padded into camp.

Emberpelt watched his friend go into the camp before he turned his attention to his kits, "You two should consider yourselves lucky that Thistlestar thought you were brae instead of mouse-brained!" His tone changed to a purr as he added, "But I am glad that you two will be made apprentices!"

Spiderkit yowled happily, "I want Sunstrike to be my mentor, or Darktail!"

Flowerstep purred as she tried to sound stern, "You will be happy with whoever Thistlestar chooses for you!"

"How about you, Icekit?" Spiderkit questioned, forgetting his earlier jealously. "Who do you want as your mentor?"

Icekit narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, Sunstrike would be a great mentor, but I doubt that I'd get her… He pictured a gray she-cat, Morningbreeze is a great hunter, but she has little patience for those who are inexperienced… A gray tom with dark stripes flashed into his mind, Kestrelfeather wouldn't be too bad, but…I'm not sure if he's the right cat to mentor me… He pictured a brown tom with a black tipped tail, Darktail…his temper is ferocious! Icekit could easily picture a lounging brown tiger-striped tom, Barkpelt's just plain lazy! Who would make a good mentor? He frowned when no cat came immediately to mind.

The same voice that had spoken earlier mewed softly, "Swiftwind…"

Icekit pictured the black and white tom, Swiftwind mentored Morningbreeze and Runningcloud, and Runningcloud's a great mentor…but he's Emberpelt's best friend…there's no way I'd get him as my mentor! He voiced his opinion though, "I would like Swiftwind to be my mentor!"

Emberpelt purred, "Maybe you'll both get lucky and get the mentors you want!"

"But until then, you need to clean out the Nursery and the Elders' Den," Flowerstep reminded them, shooing them into the camp.

While Icekit was cleaning out the Nursery, Spiderkit having lost the brief wrestling match to determine who would clean out the Elders' Den and deal with Breezepelt, a young black and white tom yowled his name when he was emerging from the Nursery with a mouthful of dirty moss.

Spitting it out, Icekit meowed, "Hello, Badgerpaw!" He was beginning to feel exhausted, and he would definitely thank whatever apprentice cleaned out the Nursery next…and hopefully it wasn't Icekit again!

Badgerpaw asked, "Is it true that you attacked a badger?" Icekit nodded. "Wow! Way to go! You and Spiderkit were sure brave! You'll have to tell me about it sometime!"

"I will," Icekit reassured his friend as he picked up the dirty moss once more and took it outside camp before he went to get fresh moss, accompanied by Morningbreeze since kits couldn't leave the camp unaccompanied by either their mother or a warrior, and Icekit didn't want to get in trouble again.

Moonrise found the Clan gathered around Thistlestar, who announced, "WindClan will welcome two new apprentices today!" He flicked his tail beckoning Icekit and Spiderkit to come forward. Once they were standing in front of him, Thistlestar continued, "Until the day that they have earned their warrior names, they shall be known as Spiderpaw and Icepaw!" The Clan yowled its approval. Thistlestar yowled, "Darktail, you will mentor Spiderpaw! I expect you to pass on all you learned from Sunstrike."

The brown tom nodded as he gently touched his nose to Spiderpaw's. Eyes shining and tail high, Spiderpaw couldn't look happier.

Turning, Thistlestar meowed, "Swiftwind, you were a great mentor to Morningbreeze and Runningcloud, I expect you to teach Icepaw all that is required to be a great WindClan warrior."

Swiftwind nodded, and touched his nose to Icepaw's. Icepaw couldn't stop himself from trembling with excitement, unable to express his joy in any other way.

The Clan yowled the two apprentices' new names and congratulated them before they lapsed into silence once more.

Thistlestar meowed, "Tonight the apprentices shall sleep outside under the gaze of their warrior ancestors for the first time, tomorrow, their training shall officially begin."


	5. Chapter 4

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_

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><p><strong><em>Chapter Four<em>**

"Until he has earned his warrior name, he shall be known as Blazepaw," Foxstar yowled. "Rosepetal," he turned to the she-cat. "You are a strong and loyal cat. Pass on these qualities to Blazepaw."

The dark cream she-cat padded forward and touched her nose to Blazepaw's.

Blazepaw could hardly contain his excitement. He had waited the rest of the quarter moon, and it had been worth it! He was now an apprentice!

Rosepetail's tail lashed in excitement and she meowed, "Would you like to learn some hunting techniques?"

"Yes!" Blazepaw meowed, unable to keep a squeak of excitement from entering his meow.

If Rosepetal noticed it, she didn't let on, "Then follow me!" She shot towards the camp entrance and Blazepaw dashed after her.

Reveling in the feel of the wind in his fur, Blazepaw wove through the ferns and trees, easily keeping Rosepetal in his sight. When the she-cat came to a sudden halt, Blazepaw quickly copied her, wondering what was wrong.

Rosepetal lifted her head cautiously and sniffed the air, "From here on we must be careful…I can smell badger."

"Do you think it's the same one that's been scented near camp?" Blazepaw questioned, his mew sounding harsh and loud in the quiet of the forest. He breathed in the harsh smell, nearly gagging on the scent of the badger, it smells terrible!

Rosepetal nodded, "I believe it's the same one that arrived a quarter moon ago…"

Blazepaw could hear the troubled note in her voice. The whole clan had been troubled by the arrival of the badger, wondering where it had come from, or the darker wonderings of what clan had driven it onto their territory without warning them.

Walking slowly through the grass, constantly checking the badger's scent, Blazepaw copied her movements, trying his hardest not to lash his tail in agitation.

With a flick of her tail, Rosepetal gestured to a hole in the ground, three cat-leaps away. She mewed softly, "That's where it's made its den. We must tell Foxstar; your hunting lesson will have to wait."

Nodding, Blazepaw had no objection to this piece of news, following his mentor as she quietly slipped away from the badger's den, breaking into a run once they were away from the badger's stink.

Rosepetal tore into the camp, Blazepaw hard on her paws. Sliding to a halt, she yowled, "Foxstar!"

The reddish-tabby tom appeared in his den in the cliff in the wall above the main part of the camp, and demanded, "What is it?"

Rosepetal announced to the entire clan, who had come out of their dens to hear what she had to say, "While looking for a good place to hunt, we stumbled upon the badger's den."

The clan started to murmur excitedly. They would no longer have to live in fear of the badger attacking the camp if they could drive it off, and they were that much closer to that goal with this piece of news.

Foxstar's eyes glowed, "We'll drive it out then!" He looked at the assembled cats, "Rosepetal will lead the way. Brightfrost, Hawkwing, Mousewhisker, and myself will be a part of this patrol." He turned to face Jayfeather who was sitting outside his den, "Jayfeather…have your supplies ready just in case…"

Blazepaw couldn't keep his whiskers from twitching with amusement as the old cat grouched, "When are they not?"

Hurrying down from his den, Foxstar exchanged a few, quick words with Moonpelt before he nodded to Rosepetal to lead the way.

Blazepaw watched the patrol leave, worry making his stomach feel knotted. He began to pace around the clearing, trying to himself of the worry.

A deep meow distracted him for a second, "Blazepaw." He turned to face Moonpelt, expecting the gray tom to be annoyed with him and his pacing, but instead Moonpelt looked sympathetic, "Why don't you find something useful to do to take your mind off of the patrol? Perhaps cleaning out the dens?"

Jayfeather meowed as he emerged from his den spitting out a mouthful of old herbs, "Or he can get over here and help me sort out the bad herbs from the good ones instead of dithering about!"

"I'll go help Jayfeather," Blazepaw decided, liking the idea of helping the medicine cat rather than cleaning out the dens. Following Jayfeather back into the Medicine Cat's den, he asked as he saw all the different herbs, "How can you tell which ones are good and which ones are bad?" All the herbs seemed the same to Blazepaw.

"They smell different for one thing," Jayfeather answered, picking through a pile of leaves, "And they will usually feel different as well." As if to emphasize his point, he pulled out some dried leaves that crinkled and crunched as he moved them.

Blazepaw helped Jayfeather sort out the herbs, learning their names as he did so, his mind distracted from his earlier thoughts of torn and bleeding cats.

After what felt like seconds, though it had been much longer, a yowl split through the air. Recognizing Rosepetal's yowl, Blazepaw shot out of the den, running through a pile that Jayfeather had been sorting, and receiving an annoyed hiss. "Sorry!" Blazepaw meowed over his shoulder as he darted into the clearing.

The clan was assembled around the patrol, all of them murmuring quietly, and there were a few wails of sorrow. Blazepaw pushed through his clanmates, scared of what he was going to see. He froze as he reached the front of the group that surrounded the patrol, his heart breaking as he saw the motionless mound of bloodied white fur. Foxstar lay near the mound of fur, blood dripping from his haunches and left shoulder. Behind him, giving their leader a respectful distance to mourn were Hawkwing, Mousewhisker, and Rosepetal, each bearing their own injuries from the badger, though none were as severe as Foxstar's.

Blazepaw padded over to the mound of bloodied white fur, and he saw his mother's face, her eyes closed as if she were merely sleeping. Unable to contain his grief any longer, Blazepaw tilted back his head and wailed his grief to the sky before he buried his nose against his mother's already cold pelt, every thought blinded by grief.

Foxstar stood up after a few seconds, giving his mate a tender lick on the cheek before he whirled around to face his clan, hackles raised, teeth bared, and eyes blazing, "WindClan will hear about this! They drove that badger onto our territory!"

Moonpelt padded away from the other's and set his tail on his leader's uninjured shoulder, while Jayfeather pushed his way through the crowd, "Even if they did, they'll deny it."

"Then we will attack. Our numbers have grown; we're a match for them now!" Foxstar snarled, tail lashing.

Cloudtail rasped, "Are you sure? WindClan has grown as well. I don't think we should risk an attack."

Foxstar whirled around to face the elder, "Would you have said that to Firestar or Bramblestar?" He didn't wait for an answer. "If WindClan denies that they drove that badger onto our territory at the Gathering then we will attack them the moonrise after! ThunderClan is strong once more and it's time we proved it!" Turning away, he limped towards his den, snarling something at Jayfeather when the medicine cat approached him.

Blazepaw barely heard his father's words, his mind in turmoil. As the day wore on he remained next to his mother's body, his nose pressed against her fur. Many cats lay down next to him and murmur their goodbyes to Brightfrost, some even try to sooth him by licking the top of his head or grooming his fur, but he remained numb to it all.

A hard jab in the shoulder forced him to sit up, Loudfang sat next to him, his eyes filled with grief as well, but he meowed, "They have to bury her now."

Blazepaw glanced around and saw the elders along with Jayfeather waiting to bury his mother outside the camp. He backed away from his mother's body, and he watched the elders carry it out of the camp, before he lowered his head, staring at the ground.

"Here," Loudfang mewed, pushing some poppy seeds towards him, "Jayfeather said you should eat these...to help you sleep…"

"Thanks," Blazepaw mewed to his friend, licking up the poppy seeds. He padded towards the Apprentices' den and he was surprised that Loudfang followed him in, curling up beside him. Loudfang's gesture of friendship managed to pierce his grief-stricken mind before the poppy seeds took their effect and he was asleep.

A new sounded near Blazepaw's ear and he stirred, surprised that he had actually fallen asleep. Blinking groggily, he glanced over to where Loudfang had been and he wasn't too surprised in finding that his friend had left the den.

Ashpaw followed his gaze, "Yeah, Loudfang left early this morning for the dawn patrol and now he's out hunting." Blazepaw hoped he imagined the look of jealously in Ashpaw's eyes, but he had a bad feeling that he hadn't.

"Guess what?" Ashpaw mewed, any traces of jealously gone, and replaced by excitement.

Blazepaw cocked his head to the side and tried to muster some enthusiasm over his grief for his mother as he asked, "What?"

"You and I get to go to the Gathering tonight!" The gray apprentice mewed proudly. He scuffed the ground with his paws, "It's my first Gathering as an apprentice too."

Blazepaw nodded, having completely forgotten that even though Ashpaw was a senior apprentice, he was only a half moon older than Blazepaw. He stood up, wondering if the patrol for the Gathering was getting ready to leave.

Purring in amusement, Ashpaw meowed, "It's only sunhigh, we have plenty of time before Foxstar gathers us together to go to the island."

He relaxed, but his fur was soon fluffed out in surprise as a yowl from outside demanded, "Blazepaw! Are you ever going to wake up so I can teach you to hunt?"

Ashpaw laughed at Blazepaw's fluffed out pelt, and Rosetail's whiskers twitched in amusement as he exited the den, Ashpaw still chortling behind him.

"Ashpaw!" Ashpaw immediately stopped laughing as Mousewhisker trotted over, his gaze stern, "Didn't I tell you to wake Blazepaw and then come straight back to the entrance of the camp?"

"Yes, Mousewhisker," Ashpaw answered, scoffing the ground with his right paw. "I just wanted to make sure Blazepaw knew that he was going to the Gathering tonight."

Mousewhisker glanced at Blazepaw and his whiskers twitched in amusement as he saw Blazepaw's fluffed out fur. "I see…well, let's go!" Ashpaw followed his mentor, dashing after the gray and white tom.

Blazepaw sat down and licked his chest fur, his mind going to his mother and how her laugh would have sounded if she had seen his fur.

Rosepetal missed the sad look in his eyes as she scolded him, "Half the prey will be asleep by now!"

Wanting to hiss in frustration at how unfair his mentor was being, he meowed darkly, "Sorry, Rosepetal."

Rosepetal didn't miss his dark tone, and her tone was gentle as she said, "I know you've just lost your mother, but you must move on. The clan still needs you." She made her way towards the camp entrance, expecting him to follow.

"Yeah right," Blazepaw mewed grouchily.

He jumped as a deep meow, even deeper than Moonpelt's meowed, "She's right, you know."

For the second time that day, Blazepaw's fur was fluffed out to make him look bigger as he whirled around to see who was behind him.

The long haired brown tabby tom, Hawkwing stared down at him, his intense blue eyes locked with Blazepaw's. "Where would our clan be if we gave into our sorrow after we lost most of our clanmates when the other three clans attacked us?"

Blazepaw couldn't argue against this logic, and he nodded, not wanting to insult the warrior any further, Hawkwing walked past him, his body emanating power.

"He's right," Rosepetal said, having come back from the entrance when Blazepaw hadn't followed her. "Our clan had much to grieve for than, and though we were weakened both physically and emotionally, we pushed on. Now we are strong once more."

Nodding, Blazepaw followed Rosepetal closely as she left the camp and into the forest. Blazepaw couldn't help feeling resentful of the cheerful chirps of the birds in the trees, it was as if the forest didn't realize that it had taken something away from ThunderClan and Blazepaw.

Rosepetal paused under the roots of a large oak tree and mewed, "Sniff for prey here and then I shall teach you the appropriate hunting crouch."

Distracted from his grief by his eagerness to learn, Blazepaw opened his mouth and breathed in, letting the air go over his scent glands. "Mouse," he stated once he had sorted out all the scents. With a pang, he remembered that his mother had given him a mouse as his first fresh-kill.

Rosepetal purred with pleasure, "Very good. Now, let me show you the proper hunting crouch." She dropped into the crouch, all of her weight was distributed into her hindquarters as she stalked forward; her tail was raised slightly above the ground but not erect. "Remember, a mouse will feel your pawsteps before it smells you." She sat up and her eyes gleamed mischievously, "Now get that mouse!"

Purring, Blazepaw copied his mentor and went into the hunting crouch, keeping his weight distributed in his hindquarters and stalking forward towards the heartbeat he could hear in the grass, and the scent from before. He spotted the tiny creature a few tail-lengths away from him. Rocking back onto his haunches, he launched himself at the mouse, killing it before it even knew what was happening.

He turned to face his mentor, the mouse dangling from his jaws. Rosepetal bounded over to him, purring loudly, "Well done! The Clan will eat well tonight if you keep hunting like that!"

Blazepaw purred along with her as he buried his mouse to pick up later, before he followed Rosepetal deeper into the forest to continue hunting.

The clan exclaimed over Blazepaw's catch of three mice, a wood pigeon, and a squirrel as he and Rosepetal padded in as the sun started to set. He glanced at Rosepetal purring with amusement; sure she would fly soon with all the praise he was receiving. His quick learning reflected well on her.

Rosepetal flicked his shoulder with her tail, "Eat something so you won't be hungry during the Gathering."

"Yes, Rosepetal," he mewed, dipping his head respectfully to her. Grabbing one of the mice, he padded over to where Ashpaw was eating.

Ashpaw meowed a muffled greeting past his own mouse as Blazepaw settled down beside him.

Licking his lips, Ashpaw mewed, "This will be an interesting Gathering with Foxstar so riled over that badger."

Blazepaw almost didn't get his mouthful of mouse down as grief crashed over him once more. Did his mother know how well he had hunted on his first day? Could she even see him? He swallowed and meowed, "Do you know how the other Clans treat us at Gatherings?"

Loudfang padded over to them, carrying a water vole. Dropping it onto the ground, he practically growled, "They never listen to Foxstar, but tonight they might, especially with Foxstar accusing WindClan of driving that badger onto our territory and not telling us."

"Why would they listen now though if they haven't before?" Blazepaw questioned.

"Because ThunderClan is strong once more," a deep meow answered, startling the young warrior and two apprentices.

Moonpelt stood behind Loudfang, his gray pelt shining slightly in the last rays of the sun.

Licking his chest fur a couple times, he added, "However, the other clans won't take kindly to Foxstar's accusation, especially WindClan."

Ashpaw growled, getting to his paws, "But they DID drive the badger onto our territory. Your patrol found their scents near the border along with the badger's!"

"I know that," Moonpelt meowed calmly. "WindClan can argue that their scent is supposed to be on the border though." Before Ashpaw can argue again, Moonpelt added, "But the two scents so intertwined is hard evidence to argue against, but WindClan will try." With that being said, he padded over to where the other warriors were starting to gather for the Gathering.

Finishing off his mouse, Blazepaw stood up, "We should head over there too."

Ashpaw padded over there eagerly, while Loudfang quickly inhaled his water vole, following the two apprentices.

Feeling a pang of loss once more, he was distracted as Ashpaw asked Loudfang, sounding genuinely curious, "Why aren't you hanging out with the other warriors?"

"There all older than I am," Loudfang stated. "I don't really fit in with them, being the youngest warrior now." He sounded a bit dejected.

Blazepaw meowed, "You're always welcome to hang out with us." Ashpaw nodded in agreement, his eyes shining, glad to be included.

Loudfang purred, flicking Blazepaw's ears with his tail, "I should be the one offering you two to hang out with me!"

Standing amongst all the warriors now, Ashpaw commented as he looked around, "Foxstar's not expecting a peaceful Gathering."

Blazepaw glanced around, and he nodded in agreement. Moonpelt, Bumblestripe, Hawkwing, Dawnstep, and Rosepetal were all a part of the patrol. All of our strongest warriors and Cinderheart and Jayfeather… He added silently, spotting the strongest elder and medicine amongst the patrol.

Loudfang meowed, "Foxstar's bringing all of our strongest cats!"

Ashpaw and Blazepaw nodded in agreement. All three of them glancing at the other worriedly.

Foxstar stepped out of his den and padded down to the rest of the patrol, flicking his tail for them to follow him as he led the way out of camp, leading the way towards the island where the clans gathered.

Blazepaw, Ashpaw, and Loudfang stayed near the back of the patrol as they bounded through the forest towards the lakeshore. Once they reached it, Blazepaw eagerly looked towards the island and saw the lethal shapes of warriors crossing a tree bridge. I hope I don't fall in! He thought worriedly.

Ashpaw voiced his thoughts, "It'd be embarrassing if one of us fell in."

"It's not as hard as it looks," Loudfang reassured them as the ThunderClan patrol reached the tree.

Foxstar nimbly leapt onto the tree and padded across it, his reddish-tabby pelt looking silver in the moonlight.

A bump on his hindquarters made Blazepaw stagger forward, his paws hitting the water. He whirled around to snap at whoever had shoved him, but he quickly bit back his remark when he came face to face with Hawkwing, whom he had managed to get in front of.

The massive brown tabby meowed, "Get moving, you're holding up the line!" Blazepaw glanced back, surprised to find himself near the front of the patrol. Ashpaw and Loudfang seemed just as surprised as they stood on either side of him.

Leaping onto the log, struggling to get his body all the way up, using his claws he managed to make it up, where he stood panting for a brief second. He started to pad forward cautiously, gripping the slick log with his claws. Heavy paw steps behind him told him that Hawkwing was on the log and a few tail-lengths behind him. As he reached the end of the log, he was alarmed when he saw the water below, the shore seeming a long way off. Taking a deep breath, he pushed off the log, leaping towards the shore, hoping to look impressive to the cats that were already there…he didn't.

Blazepaw landed with a loud splash, and he panicked as his head went beneath the waves of the lake. StarClan help me! He silently wailed as he tried to figure out how to swim.

He felt teeth in his scruff, and he gasped for breath as his head broke the surface of the water. Blazepaw felt himself being dragged towards the shore.

An irritable, but muffled she-cat's voice snarled, "Use your paws!"

Blazepaw obeyed, moving his legs in the water and he felt himself actually moving, no longer being dragged the teeth leaving his scruff. He glanced around, looking for his rescuer as he swam towards shore, and he spotted a blue-gray she-cat already at the island's shore, shaking the water from her pelt.

When he reached the shore, Blazepaw gave his ginger pelt a good shake, as Ashpaw and Loudfang bounded towards him.

His two friends were beaten by his mentor though; she scolded him, "What were you thinking?" Blazepaw opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off with a lash of her tail. "You didn't think! Now we have to thank that RiverClan she-cat for saving you!"

Blazepaw didn't see the problem with thanking a cat from a different clan for saving him and apparently neither did Hawkwing, since the large tom had padded over to the she-cat and Blazepaw managed to hear him meow as he dipped his head to the she-cat, "Thank you for rescuing our apprentice, Bluewater."

That's a nice name, Blazepaw couldn't stop himself from thinking. He stepped away from his mentor, who was still in the process of scolding him and gave an indignant yowl as he padded away.

Dipping his head to Bluewater, he mewed, "Thank you for saving me."

Bluewater merely nodded at him, before she stalked off into the bushes, leading to the main gatherin area.

A cuff to his ears made him hip around only to see his furious mentor, flanked by his anxious friends, "I wasn't done speaking with you!"

"Let him be," Hawkwing meowed, his deep tone ringing with authority. "He will know better next time that the leap is further. Now there is a Gathering that we all need to be at." He shepherded Rosepetal into the bushes ahead of him, flicking his tail for Blazepaw, Ashpaw, and Loudfang to follow.

Ashpaw asked him as they shoved their way through the bushes, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Blazepaw answered.

Loudfang purred, his whiskers twitching, "You sure looked funny when you hit the water!"

Blazepaw hissed at him in mock fury as they emerged from the bushes into a large clearing. His hiss was cut short as he gazed in awe at all the warriors and apprentices in the clearing, his mouth now hanging open and his eyes wide with awe.

Warriors, apprentices, leaders, deputies, medicine cats, and elders were all scattered throughout the clearing mingling with each other, although the they shunned the newly arrived ThunderClan cats.

Blazepaw and Ashpaw were not detoured though from padding up to a group of apprentices, where a small lean black apprentice was rearing up on his hind legs and swiping the air with his front paws. Loudfang padded away from them to join the other warriors of ThunderClan.

He's telling a story, Blazepaw assumed of the black apprentice as he sat down next to a black and white apprentice who was larger the black apprentice, Ashpaw sitting on his right. The black and white apprentice was still lean though, these must be WindClan apprentices, he assumed, judging by their lean, lethal bodies. Ashpaw pointed out the RiverClan apprentice and the two ShadowClan apprentices that were sitting there as well, describing their scents in a quiet tone so as not to offend them.

Blazepaw frowned as he spotted a ginger and white WindClan apprentice sitting next to the black apprentice that was telling the story. The ginger and white apprentice was lean like the other WindClan apprentices, but he was nearly as large as the black and white one Blazepaw was sitting next to, yet he looked like he was the same age as the black apprentice. His gaze finally settled on the crooked jaw of the apprentice. What happened to his jaw? Blazepaw wondered.

A snarl brought him out of his thoughts as the black apprentice stalked towards him, "What are you staring at?"

Blazepaw immediately looked away from the ginger and white apprentice, who was gazing at him and the black apprentice with intense blue eyes. "Nothing," he mewed.

The black apprentice growled, "You'd best watch yourself, ThunderClan filth!"

Ashpaw growled next to him, and Blazepaw put a restraining paw on his friend's right paw.

"You want to fight?" The black apprentice snarled, his fur bristling.

The ginger and white apprentice moved, grabbing the black apprentice's scruff in his mouth before he released him and meowed, "Knock it off, Spiderpaw."

"Fine," Spiderpaw meowed, glaring at the ThunderClan apprentices. "You're lucky my brother is more forgiving of stupidity than I am!" The two brothers started to walk away.

Ashpaw yowled, "You mean it's a good thing he knows you're weaker than us!"

Whipping around, Spiderpaw was about to lash out at Ashpaw, but the ginger and white apprentice blocked his path, "This is a Gathering! We can't fight here!" He shoved Spiderpaw away, glancing at the ThunderClan apprentices one last time.

The black and white apprentice followed them and the others scattered, leaving Blazepaw and Ashpaw alone.

Loudfang asked as he padded over to them, "Everything all right? I heard some snarling."

Ashpaw kneaded the ground, his fur bristling, "I'll teach that mangy WindClan apprentice the next time I see him! Calling us filth!"

"Let's go sit down," Loudfang suggested, understanding the situation that had just occurred instantly. "The meeting's about to begin."

They made their way towards the other ThunderClan cats, and Blazepaw couldn't help feeling relieved as he sat down amongst his clanmates away from the eyes of the other cats as the leaders' yowled, starting the meeting.


	6. Chapter 5

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 5<em>**

"Move you mouse-brain!" Icepaw half growled at Spiderpaw as he shoved him away from the ginger colored ThunderClan apprentice.

Badgerpaw padded beside Icepaw, nodding in agreement, "Spiderpaw! Calm down! This is your first Gathering, don't get into a fight right from the get-go!"

"How can you be so calm?" Spiderpaw demanded, facing Icepaw, "He was openly gawking at your crooked jaw!"

"I expected it," Icepaw meowed calmly. "Cats can't help but stare."

Spiderpaw spat, "But he was ThunderClan filth!"

"He's an apprentice, like us," Icepaw stated, remembering his first lesson with Swiftwind when Swiftwind had shown him the territory…

"There's a ThunderClan intruder!" Icepaw yowled, dashing off ahead of his mentor, remembering ThunderClan's scent from when Swiftwind had pointed it out to him only a few minutes ago.

Swiftwind easily overtook him, cuffing him over the head, "Mouse-brain! That's a medicine cat!" He flicked his tail over Icepaw's ears, "Besides, he's just over the border, he's not on our territory."

Flicking Icepaw's shoulder with his tail, he padded over to the gray tabby tom that was busy picking at some of the herbs on ThunderClan territory. Dipping his head respectfully to the tom he meowed, staying on WindClan territory, "Greetings, Jayfeather. What brings you this close to WindClan territory?"

"I'm here collecting chervil," Jayfeather mewed as he went back to work, tearing leaves off of a plant.

Swiftwind nodded, "We'll leave you to it then." He beckoned for Icepaw to follow him with a flick of his tail.

Icepaw asked once they were away from their border with ThunderClan, "Why didn't we attack him?"

Stopping, Swiftwind turned to face him, his amber eyes showing how appalled he was, "First, we do not attack medicine cats! Second, he wasn't on our territory!"

"But he's a ThunderClan cat!" Icepaw tried to argue with his mentor, remembering all the elders' stories about ThunderClan, where only a few good cats like Firestar and Graystripe had resided, all the rest where glory hunting piles of fox-dung.

Swiftwind sighed and sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws, and Icepaw did the same, "Icepaw…at one time, the Clans lived in peace and they had equal territories…Now I know that we're enemies with ThunderClan more than we are with the other Clans, but that being said, fighting with them for no reason is not only mouse-brained, but a good way to get yourself killed! If you learn one thing from me, let it be this: never attack another clan without good reason!"

Spiderpaw growled, jerking Icepaw out of his thoughts, "Whatever!" He then grinned at Icepaw and Badgerpaw, "Let's go find good spots to sit for the Gathering!"

Glancing at Badgerpaw, who merely shrugged at Icepaw, Icepaw followed his brother and friend, weaving around the WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan cats that were sitting together. They found a spot near the front, behind their mentors Swiftwind, Darktail, and Emberpelt, Badgerpaw's mentor. They were seated just as the leaders' yowled, getting the meeting started.

Swiftwind mewed softly to Emberpelt, "Foxstar looks agitated tonight, don't you think?"

Nodding, Emberpelt kept his gaze fixed on the tree where the leaders were balanced on the large boughs; each perched on their own separate branch. A reddish tabby tom, who Icepaw assumed was Foxstar, did indeed look agitated, his eyes blazing, and his fur bristling.

Darktail meowed, his amber gaze filled with delight, as a dark gray she-cat stood up on her branch, "Let's hope he starts something that his clan can't finish! Maybe he'll accuse Minnowstar of something!" Icepaw could only assume that Minnowstar was the dark gray she-cat.

Before either Swiftwind or Emberpelt could say anything, the dark gray she-cat, Minnowstar, yowled, "Welcome cats of all clans to tonight's Gathering! All is well in RiverClan, and Bluewater's kits are close to being apprenticed, while our previous medicine cat, Willowshine, retired to the Elders' den this past moon, and we thank her for her service to our clan." Icepaw gazed around as several cats, not just RiverClan meowed their thanks to the old she-cat that was lying down near the back of the gathered cats. "Podtail has taken over her duties as medicine cat."

She sat down, and another she-cat rose to her paws, her cream colored fur almost white in the moonlight, "ShadowClan is also doing well, our numbers are growing by the day, and our clan continues to grow stronger!" She sat down as well.

Darktail growled to Swiftwind, "A veiled threat if I ever saw one, Dawnstar sure has some nerve!"

Icepaw watched as Thistlestar rose to his paws, his fur even whiter than usual in the moonlight, "WindClan is also doing well. We have two new apprentices here tonight: Spiderpaw and Icepaw!" He gazed down at them proudly.

Icepaw's pelt felt like it was crawling with insects as all the cats gathered stared at him and Spiderpaw. He sighed in relief when Thistlestar continued, "Our clan grows stronger by the day as well." He cast Dawnstar a meaningful glance before he sat down.

Foxstar stood up then, and yowled for all to hear, "Let it be known that ThunderClan is doing well, we also appointed a new apprentice, Blazepaw!" Icepaw followed the ThunderClan leader's gaze and spotted the ginger apprentice that Spiderpaw had been so angry with.

"Told you," Icepaw mewed under his breath. Spiderpaw hissed at him, but said nothing merely fixing his gaze back on Foxstar.

"We also welcome Loudfang as a new warrior of ThunderClan," Foxstar yowled, gazing down at a brown tiger-striped tom with white markings who had his chest puffed out proudly.

Foxstar's eyes blazed, "We've also had a tragedy…" His gaze swung away from the gathered cats and settled on Thistlestar, "Brightfrost was killed by a badger that was driven onto our territory by WindClan!"

Icepaw gazed around as the WindClan cats around him rose to their paws and yowled their protests except for Emberpelt, Swiftwind, Badgerpaw, and himself.

Thistlestar snarled, stalking forward and glaring at the ThunderClan leader, "You dare accuse me of driving a badger onto your territory and not telling you?"

"I do!" Foxstar spat.

Thistlestar seemed to relax, "You can't prove anything, Foxstar."

Foxstar continued to glare at Thistlestar for several minutes before he leapt off his branch and yowled, "This Gathering is over!" He cast one last glare at Thistlestar before he flicked his tail for his clan to gather around him.

Leaping down from the tree as well, Thistlestar yowled, "You'd best watch yourself, Foxstar! WindClan, to me!"

Darktail bounded immediately over to his leader, while Swiftwind and Emberpelt exchanged a meaningful look before following him.

Spiderpaw was practically bouncing up and down, "Do you think we'll be in a battle against ThunderClan?"

"Why should we be in one?" Icepaw questioned. "We DID drive the badger onto their territory."

Spiderpaw stared at him with wide eyes, "But they deserved it!"

"Right…" Icepaw meowed, not really meaning it.

Badgerpaw mewed as they got closer to the others, "I hope we don't end up in a fight against ThunderClan, look at all the strong cats they have!"

Icepaw followed his gaze, and he couldn't help feeling that Badgerpaw was exaggerating. Though the cats looked strong, they were thin, their large frames thinner than even a WindClan cat's.

Thistlestar, seeing that all of his cats were gathered, bounded out of the Gathering area and past the ThunderClan cats, claiming the right to be the first clan to go over the tree bridge.

Icepaw and Badgerpaw trailed at the back of their patrol, Badgerpaw constantly glancing back at the ThunderClan cats behind him.

"Would you stop that?" Icepaw demanded.

Badgerpaw looked abashed, "I'm just nervous, I mean they accused us of driving that badger onto their territory…" Seeing an escape from the ThunderClan cats open up, he leapt onto the log, eager to escape.

Suddenly feeling vulnerable, as he realized he was the last member of his clan near the ThunderClan cats, he leapt onto the log and started to pad quickly across. Halfway across the log he froze as he felt pelts brush against his, ThunderClan scent wreathing around him as unfamiliar voices mewed soft as the night breeze:

"We need you Icepaw…"

"Help us!"

"You're our only hope!"

A familiar voice and a faint white pelt brushed against his, the overwhelming ThunderClan scent fading, "You're getting closer to your destiny."

Icepaw shook himself and he sprinted across the rest of the tree bridge, landing beside his clan mates as he leapt off the bridge, panting. The voices and ThunderClan scent had terrified him, and as he watched the ThunderClan warriors leap off the tree bridge after Foxstar, he could see how Badgerpaw found them terrifying; the way their muscles rippled under their pelts, their intense and determined eyes; they suddenly didn't seem so weak.

Badgerpaw brushed against him, "They are intimidating."

Before Icepaw could say anything to justify his trembling, Spiderpaw taunted, "Scaredy-mouse!"

"I'm not scared of them!" Icepaw hissed. Spiderpaw bounded away, while Badgerpaw took a few steps away from him and then glanced back at him questioningly.

Icepaw grinned at him, taking off at a run to catch up. He needed to run. To clear his head; for the words he'd just spoken had brought about a chorus of soft purring around him, when no cat had been near him. I'm a loyal WindClan cat! He silently yowled. Nothing will change that!

A few days after the Gathering, Icepaw and Spiderpaw were awakened by their mentors calling for them.

Icepaw blinked groggily, the Silverpelt still shining above.

"Wha?" Spiderpaw yawned, opening his jaws wide.

Standing up, Icepaw stretched, "Pre-dawn patrol."

"No!" Spiderpaw put his right paw over his face, curling back up.

Icepaw sighed, nudging his brother, "Come on, I know we were out hunting late last night, but we have to patrol the borders."

"I hate your logic," Spiderpaw growled, getting to his paws and heading towards where their mentors were waiting. "I hope we have some action today, all these extra patrols are ridiculous."

Darktail cuffed him, "Be proud that you're getting all this experience! You'll be made a warrior that much faster!"

Spiderpaw brightened at that, "True, so let's go!" He bounded out of the camp.

Rolling his eyes, Darktail bounded after his black apprentice.

Swiftwind meowed to Icepaw, "We'll catch up, we need to wait for Emberpelt since he's joining our patrol."

"What about Badgerpaw?" Icepaw asked.

Swiftwind purred, "He gets the rest that the rest of us want!"

Icepaw purred as well as Emberpelt came out of Thistlestar's den, "What are you two waiting for? Let's go!"

Both of them purring, Swiftwind and Emberpelt ran after Emberpelt, all three of them catching up with Spiderpaw and Darktail, who were waiting a little ways out of camp.

"What took you so long?" Darktail questioned.

Emberpelt answered, leading the patrol now towards the border their border with ThunderClan, "Thistlestar just wanted to tell me what to be on the lookout for while on patrol."

Rolling his eyes, Darktail growled, "I bet that wasn't all you two talked about."

"You're right, it's not," Emberpelt stated.

Before Darktail could say anything else, Swiftwind intervened, "What Emberpelt and Thistlestar discussed is between them. Our job is to patrol the border."

Tail lashing, Darktail nodded, though he didn't look pleased. Spiderpaw walked behind him, gazing around eagerly, searching for signs of ThunderClan intruders.

Icepaw scented the air as he walked behind Swiftwind, but just as he was about to ask if they could hunt, Swiftwind meowed, "I'll be right back, there's a rabbit close by." With that, he stalked off into the heather silently.

As the border came in sight, Spiderpaw let out a ferocious yowl and took off running. A split second later, Darktail was right on his paws, both of them having spotted a ginger cat on their territory with a squirrel in its jaws.

Emberpelt and Icepaw tore after them, but as they drew nearer, Icepaw slowed, that's that ThunderClan apprentice from the Gathering! As Spiderpaw leapt at the ThunderClan apprentice, the ginger tom had already dropped the squirrel, leaving it on their territory, and had been fleeing towards the border.

The ThunderClan apprentice yowled in pain as Spiderpaw's claws snuck into his fur. Another yowl escaped the ginger apprentice as Darktail's teeth sank into his shoulder.

"Enough!" Emberpelt snarled, ramming into Darktail, and lashing out with unsheathed claws at his clan mate.

Flinging himself at his brother with a yowl, Icepaw landed on his brother's back, his own claws unsheathed. He knew that it wasn't right to attack the apprentice when he had been fleeing; leaving the prey he had caught on their territory behind. It went against everything he had learned so far from Swiftwind.

Surprised, Spiderpaw released the ThunderClan apprentice, who shot across the border and out of sight.

Icepaw got off Spiderpaw's back, while Spiderpaw gazed at him furiously, Emberpelt, and Darktail's snarling could be heard as the two toms fought, "What are you doing? You're supposed to attack HIM not ME!"

"He was fleeing, and he left the squirrel!" Icepaw argued.

"So?" Spiderpaw growled, his fur bristling, "He was ThunderClan scum while I'M your BROTHER!"

Icepaw's fur bristled as the two littermates started to circle each other, teeth bared and ears pressed flat against their heads. Before either one could make a move, Swiftwind yowled, jumping between them, blood on his chin, "Enough! Whatever's happened, Thistlestar will sort it out!"

Darktail growled, "Thistlestar will definitely hear about this, Emberpelt!" His gaze was furious, and he had a nasty scratch on his neck as he flicked his tail for Spiderpaw to follow him as he led the way back to camp.

Emberpelt padded over to Swiftwind, his ear bleeding from his fight with Darktail.

"What happened?" Swiftwind demanded.

Emberpelt padded after Darktail and Spiderpaw, "You'll hear about it soon enough."

Swiftwind glanced back at Icepaw, his gaze asking him the same question.

"We attacked Spiderpaw and Darktail for attacking a fleeing ThunderClan apprentice who had been hunting on our territory," Icepaw explained quietly as he padded after Swiftwind and the rest of the, now divided, patrol.

"You did what?" Swiftwind's eyes were round with shock.

Icepaw defended his and his father's actions, "He had dropped the prey, that squirrel," he flicked his tail at the squirrel that was still lying on the ground. "And fled."

Swiftwind darted back and grabbed the squirrel, carrying it in his jaws, and he meowed, "Fish ould elp your case against Histlestar!"

"I hope so," Icepaw mewed quietly, starting to tremble. He hadn't even considered what might happen to him if he defended the ThunderClan apprentice. He had only known that it was breaking the Warrior Code to attack him the way Spiderpaw and Darktail had, but what if he was wrong?

A soft mew spoke to him, a pelt brushing against his comfortingly, "Do not doubt your own beliefs in the Warrior Code, Icepaw…"

Yeah, yeah, Icepaw thought grouchily. Tell that to Thistlestar!

Upon entering the camp, Thistlestar was already listening to Darktail and Emberpelt, with Spiderpaw chiming in every now and then.

"Stay here," Swiftwind said past the squirrel, padding over to the gathered cats.

Icepaw nodded, sitting down on the ground, watching Thistlestar, Swiftwind, Darktail, Emberpelt, and Spiderpaw, but not really hearing what they were saying.

Spottedpaw, who had been made an apprentice only a few days ago, padded over to him, her tortoiseshell and white pelt shining in the first rays of sunlight, "Are you okay?"

"No," Icepaw meowed. He glanced at her, "I'm not sure if my father and I did the right thing on our patrol this morning."

Spottedpaw licked his cheek, "I'm sure you just followed your heart."

"Yeah, but…" Icepaw didn't get a chance to finish as Thistlestar leapt onto the rock in the center of the camp and yowled, "Cats of WindClan gather!"

Darktail looked triumphant as he sat down, Spiderpaw sitting beside him. Icepaw padded quickly over to his father, who was sitting just beneath the rock, all the cats gazed at him, their eyes becoming even more perplexed when Icepaw joined him.

"Behold!" Thistlestar yowled, "Traitors of our clan who would let a ThunderClan cat leave with prey from our territory!"

Yowls of disbelief and anger rang throughout the camp, each separate voice indistinct.

Swiftwind spoke up once the others had quieted, "The ThunderClan apprentice dropped the piece of prey once he realized his mistake, leaving it on our territory!"

Barkpelt snapped, "That's no excuse for attacking our clan mates as it's obvious they did!" He gestured at Darktail's injury.

"It was an apprentice!" Swiftwind tried to argue.

Morningbreeze spat, "So we let an apprentice get away with hunting on our territory? Who knows what other prey he stole!"

Eyes blazing, Thistlestar demanded, "Are you a loyal WindClan warrior or not, Swiftwind?"

"I'm a loyal WindClan warrior," Swiftwind stated after several long seconds, and he lowered his head, not looking at either Emberpelt or Icepaw.

Emberpelt's eyes showed how much Swiftwind's words hurt, "Swiftwind…"

"I'm a loyal WindClan warrior," Swiftwind repeated, his eyes showing how much it was costing him to say that to his best friend and his apprentice.

Thistlestar nodded in approval before gazing down at Emberpelt and Icepaw, "You're hereby banished from this territory and you have till Sunhigh to get out. If either of you are found on the territory after that, you'll be killed."

Emberpelt nodded, rising to his paws and gazing around in defiance at the gathered cats, "WindClan has fallen as a great clan when it allows warriors to maul apprentices!"

Flowerstep snarled, "Get out of here, both of you!"

Icepaw's eyes widened in shock and pain as his mother snarled at them, and he glanced around, looking for one face among the many angry cats that looked sad to see them leave. He spotted Swiftwind, who looked small where he sat, head lowered and eyes on the ground, and then there was Badgerpaw, who looked bewildered to see Emberpelt and Icepaw actually leaving. Finally, there was Spottedpaw who gazed after him sadly, but she didn't come with him either.

Steeling himself, Icepaw followed Emberpelt over the hill away from the camp, and out of sight of the hostile gazes.

"What'll we do now?" Icepaw asked his father.

Emberpelt's gaze was determined as he glanced back at Icepaw, "We'll go to the only clan that might accept us…ThunderClan."

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><p><em>Thank you to all who have favorited andor reviewed, it keeps my muse working happily!_


	7. Chapter 6

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

Blazepaw ran, his shoulder and back stinging, his heart was pounding in his chest. What was I thinking? He wondered, blindly swerving around trees. I could have been killed then what would have hap-! His thought process was cut short as he slammed into something with fur.

With an "umph!" he landed on top of a furry creature which growled, "Get off, Blazepaw!"

Relieved that he had, literally, run into Rosetail, Blazepaw scooted off his mentor, trembling.

Getting to her paws, Rosetail's eyes grew wide as she took in Blazepaw's bloodied pelt. "What happened?" she demanded.

"I-I accidentally crossed the border into WindClan territory," Blazepaw answered. "I left the squirrel I caught but they still attacked…"

Rosetail's eyes narrowed, "Did they let you go or did you escape on your own?"

"Two other WindClan cats helped me," Blazepaw stated, recalling how the two ginger and white cats had attacked the black apprentice and the brown warrior.

Blinking in confusion, his mentor didn't seem able to process this information, "They attacked their own clan mates?" Blazepaw nodded.

"Well this will be an interesting report to Foxstar," Rosetail muttered, turning around and flicking her tail for Blazepaw to follow. "WindClan attacked you, but two WindClan cats saved you," she shook her head, still unable to process that.

Blazepaw was finding it hard to believe as well. From how all the clans had treated ThunderClan at the Gathering, he'd assumed that there'd be no mercy from the WindClan cats, yet two of them had protected him. I wish I knew who they were, he thought, unable to recall their faces, just the color of their pelts.

Following Rosetail, he asked, "Will we pick up the prey that we caught earlier?"

"We'll get it later," Rosetail stated, trying to go slowly for Blazepaw, but wanting to get back to camp as quickly as possible. "Now the clan needs to know what happened. This may be what Foxstar has been waiting for!"

Unsure of what she meant by that, Blazepaw followed her, his shoulder and back stinging, but he didn't complain, seeing the urgency in Rosetail's step and the way her pelt was bristling along her spine.

"Foxstar!" Rosepetal yowled as soon as she entered the camp, Blazepaw right on her tail.

Foxstar poked his head out of his den above the rest of the camp, "What is it?"

Rosepetal yowled, "WindClan warriors attacked Blazepaw!"

Eyes blazing with pure fury, Foxstar leapt down from his den, "Tell me what happened!"

Gesturing with her tail for Blazepaw to step forward, Rosepetal backed up to let him have Foxstar's full attention. Finding himself as the center of attention for the entire clan, he squeaked, "I was...!" He took a deep breath before starting again, "I was hunting when I accidentally went over the border, catching a squirrel on their territory." There was an intake of breath from the gathered clan. "When I heard a battle call, I dropped the squirrel and fled, but I was still attacked by an apprentice and warrior."

"Even after you dropped the prey?" An indignant Cloudtail snarled. "Those fox hearts!"

Foxstar leapt onto Highledge, not bothering with the traditional call, since all the cats that were in the camp were already gathered, "You've just heard Blazepaw speak of how WindClan attacked him even after he had dropped the prey he had accidentally caught on their territory! I want more patrols now on the WindClan border!"

"Not an all out attack?" Rosepetal yowled indignantly, obviously wanting to show the WindClan cats what happens when you messed with her apprentice. Blazepaw flicked his ears back in embarrassment, but he quickly gazed around in surprise as more cats echoed her thoughts.

Lashing his tail, Foxstar stated, "No. Not yet. If we attacked now they'd argue that they had been in the right by attacking Blazepaw since he trespassed on their territory."

Mousewhisker snapped, "One minute you want us to attack WindClan, the next you don't! Make up your mind, Foxstar!"

Hackles raised, Foxstar snarled, "I will not lead my clan foolishly into battle! We will wait for WindClan to make a wrong move and then we'll attack!"

Blazepaw whipped his head from side to side worriedly as the clan started to mutter in mutinous tones. StarClan help us! Our clan's going to ignore the warrior code and disobey Foxstar!

A yowl, and several growls from the entrance to the camp stopped the mutterings, and all eyes turned in that direction.

Jayfeather, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, spoke, "The border patrol has returned with some WindClan cats."

Snarls echoed throughout the camp as the border patrol, consisting of Hawkwing, Dawnstep, and Loudfang entered the clearing, two WindClan cats between them. One ginger and white warrior, and one white and ginger apprentice. Blazepaw's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the apprentice with the crooked jaw.

Hawkwing swatted the warrior, who didn't react, but the apprentice did, throwing himself at the much bigger tom cat. The ginger and white warrior blocked his path though, muttering something quickly to him.

The patrol moved until they were directly under Highledge, where Dawnstep meowed loudly so the whole clan could hear her, "Two WindClan trespassers!"

The ginger and white warrior yowled over the snarls of the clan, "We're sorry for trespassing but we have nowhere else to go, we were banished from our clan!"

"A likely story," Hawkwing snarled. "More like a ruse to get us to let our guard down so your clan can attack us again!"

"That's not it at all!" The ginger and white warrior argued, "We were banished for helping one of your apprentices!"

Blazepaw's eyes widened as he realized that the two cats in front of him had helped him.

Swatting at the warrior, Loudfang growled, "A likely story!"

This was too much for the white and ginger apprentice, who threw himself at Loudfang with a snarl of fury. The two were a rolling mass of claws and fur as they fought.

"Enough!" Foxstar yowled, Loudfang and the apprentice pulling away from the other, glaring. "Blazepaw…did these two cats help you to escape?"

Blazepaw nodded, "Yes, Foxstar."

Glaring down at the two WindClan cats, Foxstar growled, "So you came to ThunderClan after being banished, Emberpelt?"

Emberpelt nodded, dipping his head respectively to Foxstar, "Yes, Foxstar. My son and I still wish to be apart of a clan so we can continue to follow the Warrior Code."

Blazepaw heard the white and ginger apprentice growl, "Which states that we be loyal to our OWN clan!" Emberpelt shot the apprentice a glare, but remained where he was in his posture of submission.

Foxstar gazed down at the two cats thoughtfully, "What would happened if WindClan asked you to come back?"

Shooting another glare at the apprentice, Emberpelt said, "We'd stay here. WindClan is no longer a clan that follows the Warrior Code, and we refuse to be apart of such a clan!"

"Then you may stay," Foxstar stated.

Emberpelt's expression brightened as he stood, "Thank you, Foxstar. If I may also mentor my son, Icepaw, I…"

"No," Foxstar growled. "A ThunderClan warrior will train him…" His gaze went to Icepaw, who was still gazing at Emberpelt angrily. "I will announce his mentor at Sunhigh. I must think awhile on what cat would be appropriate to mentor him." With that, the meeting ended as Foxstar retreated into his den.

Jayfeather and Loudfang padded over to Blazepaw. Jayfeather didn't waste any time in starting to examine his wounds, while Loudfang started to grouch, "Can you believe he actually let them stay? That Icepaw is vicious and obviously doesn't want to be here!"

"Would you want to be in a clan that you've been raised to think was your enemy?" Jayfeather questioned, prodding Blazepaw's side, causing him to leap away. "Hold still!"

Blazepaw reluctantly stayed still as Jayfeather prodded him more, "He can't be all bad, Loudfang, I mean, he helped me out…twice now!"

"Yeah, well," Loudfang grumbled. "I still wouldn't trust him!" He stalked away from him towards Ashpaw, who was laying outside the Apprentices' den, watching the WindClan cats with distrustful eyes.

"Come to my den," Jayfeather meowed, nudging him. "Your wounds aren't deep, but they still need treatment."

Sighing, Blazepaw padded after him slowly, watching as Moonpelt started to get another patrol ready, "Bumblestripe, Emberpelt, and I shall do another border patrol along the ShadowClan border, this way you can also become more familiar with the territory," Moonpelt said kindly to the WindClan warrior. "I want Hawking, Mousewhisker, and Ashpaw to patrol the WindClan border at sunset." With that, the deputy dismissed the group and padded towards the entrance, Bumblestripe and Emberpelt following. As Blazepaw walked into Jayfeather's den, he watched as Bumblestripe started to talk with Emberpelt.

While Jayfeather started to treat him, he thought, At least some cats are willing to accept two new cats into our clan.

"Done," Jayfeather meowed. "You can still do your apprentice duties, just don't overdue it or you'll aggravate your injuries."

"All right," Blazepaw mewed, padding out of the den once more. He glanced at Loudfang and Ashpaw, who were still talking outside the Apprentices' den, to Icepaw, who was crouching under the Highledge, eyes showing his mistrust. Taking a deep breath, Blazepaw padded over to the WindClan cat. "Hey! Thanks for helping me out earlier."

"It was the right thing to do," Icepaw stated.

Blazepaw asked, "Do you want me to show you around the camp?" Icepaw stared at him in surprise. "This way you won't feel so…so strange to you."

Looking stunned, Icepaw nodded, getting to his paws. Blazepaw smiled, "I'm Blazepaw by the way."

"Icepaw, nice to meet you."

Blazepaw heard the warmth in Icepaw's voice, and smiled a bit as he padded over to the Apprentices' den, though it quickly faded as Loudfang got to his paws, hackles slightly raised, "What did you bring him over here for?"

"I'm showing him the camp," Blazepaw stated. "He might as well know where he's sleeping."

Hissing, Loudfang stalked away from them towards the Warriors' den. Ashpaw sighed, and said to Icepaw, "Don't mind him. Loudfang's just very wary of cats from other clans."

"As he should be," Icepaw muttered.

Hearing him, Blazepaw meowed, "We need to get to know each other as well."

Ashpaw meowed suddenly, "I'm Ashpaw, we'll all be denmates."

"You sleep in a den all the time?" Icepaw asked, looking stunned.

Ashpaw frowned, "Don't you sleep in a den?"

"Only when the weather's bad," Icepaw stated. "Otherwise in WindClan, the warriors and apprentices sleep under Silverpelt."

Ashpaw looked thoughtful, "I think my paws would freeze off."

"We sleep together for warmth!" Icepaw purred, looking more relaxed.

Still not looking convinced, Ashpaw meowed, "Well, there's a nest in here for you if you want it! Now I'm going to get something to eat!" He padded towards the fresh-kill pile.

Flicking his tail for Icepaw to follow him into the den, Blazepaw meowed, "Well, this is where you'll sleep until you're a warrior, then you'll sleep in the Warriors' den, which is that thorn bush across the clearing." Icepaw nodded. "I'll show you the Elders' den now," Blazepaw said, leading the way out of the den. I hope Cloudtail and Berrynose are in good moods.

Approaching the entrance, he mewed softly, "So this is the Elders' den, but since they're sleeping I'll just tell you who each one is… The cream colored tom with the short tail is Berrynose, the white tom is Cloudtail, and the gray she-cat is Cinderpelt."

Cloudtail stirred, lifting his head and gazing at the entrance, "Is that you Blazepaw?"

"Yes, Cloudtail," Blazepaw answered. "I'm just showing Icepaw the camp."

Cloudtail's gaze found Icepaw and hardened, and he stood stiffly, purposefully turning his back on the two apprentices.

"Don't mind him," Blazepaw stated. "He's always grouchy."

Icepaw meowed, "I don't think that's the reason he was like that."

"I'll show you the Nursery!" Blazepaw quickly meowed, changing the subject as he trotted towards the bramble thicket that was the Nursery.

Blazepaw walked in, glad that Icepaw was still following him, "This is the Nursery."

Icecloud purred in amusement, "Aren't you going to introduce me, Blazepaw?"

"Right, sorry!" Blazepaw meowed. "Icepaw, this is Icecloud. Icecloud, Icepaw!"

Icecloud continued to purr, getting to her paws, her round belly hindering her a bit, "It's good to have you in ThunderClan, though I wish the circumstances were different."

"Thanks," Icepaw meowed politely to the queen.

The queen smiled warmly at them, "So what are you showing him next?"

"The Medicine Cat's den," Blazepaw answered.

"That's good, you should head over there!"

"Right!" Blazepaw meowed, padding out of the den, Icepaw following once more. Icecloud followed them out, but she didn't go very far, laying outside the Nursery, sunning herself.

As they approached the Jayfeather's den, Blazepaw meowed, "We won't stay long since Jayfeather's grouchy too…"

"I heard that!" Came an irritable meow from the confines of the den. Jayfeahter pushed his head through the lichen that blocked his den from view, his blind gaze resting on them as he growled, "What are you doing, Blazepaw?"

"Showing Icepaw around the camp," Blazepaw answered, feeling a bit abashed.

Jayfeahter snapped, "Well now he knows where my den is, show him another part of the camp, I'm busy!" With that, he withdrew back into his den.

"Sorry about that," Blazepaw mewed.

Icepaw shrugged, "It's no problem. Kestrelflight's not exactly the friendliest cat either."

Purring in amusement, Blazepaw pointed with his tail at Highledge, "There's Highledge, where Foxstar speaks to our clan from, as you already witnessed, and his den is just above it." Pointing to a different part of camp, he meowed, "Over there is the dirt place…and I think that's about all you need to know about the camp."

Icepaw nodded, "Thanks…can you tell me about the warriors?"

"Sure, you probably want an idea of each one before Foxstar gives you a mentor, right?"

"Yeah."

Blazepaw nodded, "Let's head back over to the Apprentices' den where I'm less likely to be overheard by any of them!"

Once they were laying down outside of the Apprentices' den with Ashpaw, who was licking his lips, having finished eating a piece of prey.

"Who to start with?" Blazepaw murmured.

Ashpaw flicked his tail towards the Warriors' den, "Well, you already know Loudfang, Icepaw, but he's a new warrior, and I doubt Foxstar would let him mentor you."

"Yeah, we met," Icepaw meowed, his meow very close to a growl.

Blazepaw defended his friend, "Loudfang's not that bad once you get to know him! He's a loyal warrior, that's all."

Icepaw looked downcast at this, but he meowed, "What about that brown tabby?"

"Hawkwing?" Blazepaw asked, nodding towards where the long haired tom was grooming his fur. "He's one of our strongest warriors."

"He's never had an apprentice either," Ashpaw stated. "Even though he's older than Dawnstep."

"Is that good or bad?" Icepaw questioned.

Blazepaw looked thoughtful, "I suppose Foxstar feels that Hawkwing's talents lie elsewhere and not in training new warriors for the clan."

"That or the right apprentice hasn't come along for him to train," Ashpaw added. "I doubt Foxstar would make him your mentor though since it's well known that Hawkwing doesn't like the other clans."

Icepaw asked, seemingly eager to change the subject, "Has Dawnstep had an apprentice?"

"No," Blazepaw answered.

Gazing around the camp, Icepaw asked, "Which one is Dawnstep?"

"She's heading towards Icecloud," Blazepaw answered, having just spotted the pale gray tabby she-cat.

Ashpaw commented, "She'll be a great mentor! She has a lot of patience, and she's always helping out around the camp!"

"Any other good mentors?" Icepaw meowed.

Ashpaw purred, "Mousewhisker! But he's my mentor!" He flicked his tail to where the old gray and white tom was sunning himself on a rock near the Elders' den. "Rosepetal's Blazepaw's mentor, though I'm not sure she's the greatest!"

Hissing, Blazepaw swatted at Ashpaw fondly, "She's a great mentor! Always full of energy!"

"How about mentors that aren't taken?" Icepaw asked, his whiskers twitching in amusement.

Glad to see the WindClan cat relaxing, Blazepaw meowed, seeing the border patrol returning, "There's Bumblestripe, who's an excellent hunter, not to mention our deputy, Moonpelt, but he hasn't had an apprentice since Dawnstep."

"There's always a slim chance that Foxstar himself will mentor you," Ashpaw added as he spotted Foxstar coming out of his den. "But that's a really slim chance."

They all glanced up as Emberpelt approached them, "It's almost sunhigh, and the clan's already gathering to hear Foxstar's decision."

Nodding, the three apprentices got to their paws, following Emberpelt towards where Bumblestripe, Hawking, and Loudfang were sitting.

Icepaw sat down next to Emberpelt, and Blazepaw sat beside him, Ashpaw sitting on his other side, while Loudfang sat on Ashpaw's otherside, casting a glare Icepaw's way.

Foxstar jumped down to Highledge and yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!"

The rest of the clan padded into the clearing, Blazepaw noted that their eyes showed either eagerness at the prospect of a new apprentice, or malice towards the two WindClan cats. It would be a long time before they were fully accepted into the clan.

Foxstar's meow rang out, "We have a new apprentice in our clan who is in need of a mentor who will teach him what it means to be a loyal ThunderClan cat!" His gaze swept over his clan. "Hawkwing…you are one of our most loyal cats and fiercest fighters. Pass on your knowledge to Icepaw."

Hawkwing dipped his head to Foxstar and turned, waiting for Icepaw to approach.

Blazepaw breathed as Icepaw started to pad towards Hawkwing, "May StarClan help him!"


	8. Chapter 7

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

Icepaw's heart pounded in his chest as he padded forward to touch noses with Hawkwing, the look in the warrior's gaze unreadable. When he touched noses with the massive warrior, he heard a faint purring, and it wasn't coming from his new mentor. He relaxed slightly as a familiar voice whispered on the wind, "The best choice of mentor…"

I hope you're right, Icepaw thought, as he and Hawkwing sat down once more. No cat cheered him, not that he had expected it either. I'm a WindClan cat… not a ThunderClan cat…

Foxstar remained on Highledge, his gaze going over the clan, "We grow stronger by the day, but we must remember that we can't let our guard down, ever. Not while the other clans still worry about our growing strength and threaten what remains of our territory." With that happy note, he flicked his tail, ending the meeting.

Icepaw started to pad back towards the Apprentices' den, feeling like someone had just struck him a hard blow. Hawking, the cat who didn't like the other clans, was his mentor, and Icepaw could only see hard times ahead of him, even more than he'd already had.

Hearing his name called out behind him, he turned, to see Blazepaw and Ashpaw bounding over to him, concern showing in their eyes. Before any of them could say anything, Hawkwing's deep meow took them all by surprise, "Icepaw. You'll be coming with me on the sunset patrol to patrol our border with WindClan."

"Okay," Icepaw meowed, not thrilled in the slightest. Great! If I'm seen over here WindClan will attack ThunderClan! He shook his head, feeling like he was betraying his birth clan by worrying about ThunderClan's well-being. Did I really want to come here? He wondered, remembering how desperate he'd been when the others had been snarling for his blood, but now he wondered if they'd welcome him back, a foolish apprentice that had only followed his father's example.

Blazepaw meowed once Hawkwing had padded over to the Warriors' den, "I can't believe Foxstar made Hawkwing your mentor!"

"You'll have to tread cautiously till you're sure that he likes you," Ashpaw added helpfully.

"Thanks," Icepaw meowed. "Hopefully he won't kill me on the patrol at sunset!"

"Nah, he wouldn't do that!" Ashpaw meowed, trying to reassure him. It didn't really work.

Icepaw padded out with the patrol at sunset, glad that Ashpaw was a part of the patrol as well, his new friend's presence reassuring compared to his new mentor's stony silence. Hawkwing led the patrol, having only glanced at Icepaw back in camp before they'd set out. Even Mousewhisker's nod had been a warmer greeting.

As they neared the border, the familiar scents of WindClan reached him, and he stopped at the border, taking in his clan mates' familiar scents. Swiftwind, Badgerpaw, and Morningbreeze must have patrolled the border recently, their scents the freshest ones on the wind, but he could also catch the scents of his mother and brother, along with his other clan mates and a pang of loss went through him.

What am I doing here? Why am I here? He wondered, maybe if I went back to the clan and explained… Icepaw sighed, knowing there was nothing to explain. He hadn't followed his father, he had been racing side by side with his father originally to help Blazepaw, and he hadn't hesitated when he had launched himself at his brother. He stared across the border with a longing he knew would never leave him. Icepaw knew, deep down, regardless of the fact that he'd been banished from WindClan, he would always be a WindClan cat at heart.

Rustling within the bushes caused him to jump and whip around, but he relaxed as he realized it was Ashpaw, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Icepaw reassured his new friend. "I just thought I scented some fresh scents, but it was just a trick of the wind."

Ashpaw believed his lie, "Well come on! Hawkwing looked annoyed."

"Right!" Icepaw meowed, bounding back towards the patrol.

Icepaw found that he couldn't meet Hawkwing's gaze. The brown tabby's ice blue eyes seemed to stare right through him, though he didn't say anything, continuing to near the border, watching for any WindClan warriors.

Mousewhisker frowned after Hawkwing before he turned to Icepaw, "We were worried you got attacked by WindClan."

"No, I just thought I smelled some fresh scents, but it was a trick of the wind," Icepaw meowed, repeating the lie.

Mousewhisker nodded at him, his eyes warm, before he padded after Hawkwing.

Ashpaw mewed softly, padding beside Icepaw as they followed their mentors, "See? Told you Mousewhisker was awesome!"

He nodded in agreement, Mousewhisker seemed to be more concerned about his well-being than Hawkwing, but that really didn't surprise Icepaw, not after the way his friends had described the warrior.

Finishing the patrol, and padding back into camp, Icepaw was surprised to see his father sitting outside the Warriors' den. Emberpelt stood up as he spotted Icepaw, and he trotted over to him, whispering in his ear, "Try and sleep in the Apprentices' den tonight. It won't kill you."

Says you, Icepaw thought mutinously, but he nodded, showing he'd try.

"Tomorrow I'll take you out hunting with the sunhigh hunting patrol," Hawkwing stated behind him, causing him to jump.

Icepaw smoothed his chest fur quickly before he meowed, "Right!"

"If you're up before then, clean out the Elders' old bedding and get some fresh moss for their beds from Jayfeather," Hawking finished, angling away from Icepaw towards the Warriors' den.

Sighing in relief, Icepaw padded reluctantly in the Apprentices' den, where Ashpaw was already circling in his nest, "Night, Icepaw."

Blazepaw meowed from his own nest, "Night you two."

"Night," Icepaw mewed softly, curling up in his own nest.

Icepaw was still awake long after his den mates had fallen asleep, their breathing slowing to the gentle inhales and exhales of sleep.

Rising quietly out of his nest, he padded cautiously out of the den, looking for a secluded spot to sleep in the clearing where he could sleep under the watchful eyes of his warrior ancestors. He sighed, when his searching came to no avail. Padding into the center of camp, he curled up in a ball, falling asleep almost instantly as he heard the whistle of wind rushing above the camp…

A paw jabbed his side, and Icepaw lifted his head groggily, coming nose to nose with the clan deputy, Moonpelt. The gray tom setting his paw on the ground, "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," Icepaw answered, standing. "I'm not used to sleeping in a den unless the weather's bad."

Moonpelt smiled at him warmly, "That's understandable. I'd find it odd sleeping outside if our situations were switched."

Icepaw was starting to wonder if the deputy had really woken him up to only chat with him, but Moonpelt finally got to his point, "It's best you head back to the den though, the clearing's going to get busy and you won't get a wink of sleep."

"Thanks, Moonpelt," Icepaw meowed, dipping his head respectively to the deputy, walking towards the Apprentices' den. He curled up and tried to go to sleep once more, but he couldn't, though he didn't leave the den, knowing it'd be pointless in trying to clean out the Elders' den when the elders were still asleep. Sitting up, feeling frustrated, he padded out of the den once more.

Looking around the clearing, he spotted Icecloud outside the Nursery, and he trotted over to her eagerly, hoping to have a job to do.

Seeing his approach, Icecloud meowed, "Good morning, Icepaw. What brings you here?"

Suddenly feeling bashful, he scuffed the ground with his paw, "Does your nest need to be cleaned?"

Icecloud purred, "I was going to do it later today, but since you seem like you need something to do, go ahead."

Purring in gratitude, Icepaw darted into the Nursery, picking through Icecloud's nest and pulling out the bad bits of moss, going through the nest carefully and diligently. Once he'd finished, he rolled the bad moss into a ball and carried it out of the den and to the dirt place. Shaking himself, he started towards the Medicine Cat's den, hoping Jayfeather was awake and in a better mood than yesterday.

"Jayfeather?" he called out cautiously.

The old, blind tom meowed from within the den, "What?"

"Is it all right if I get some moss for Icecloud's nest?" Icepaw mewed cautiously as he pushed his way through the lichen.

Jayfeather's voice came from a crevice further back in the den, "Yes, make sure you don't use too much or you'll never finish the Elders' nests without them complaining, Icepaw."

Surprised that Jayfeather had recognized his voice, he meowed, "Thanks!" Before he padded towards the pile of moss that was sitting near a pool of water in the den and scooping up a decent amount, he padded back towards Icecloud's den, conscious of several cats watching him around the clearing.

Icecloud purred as Icepaw returned, "That looks like it'll be plenty for my nest."

Feeling pleased with himself, Icepaw set to work spreading the moss around Icecloud's nest. Satisfied that the nest would be comfortable for the queen, he padded outside, where he found Icecloud eating a mouse with Blazepaw's mentor, Rosepetal.

"Thanks, Icepaw," Icecloud murmured past her mouse.

Rosepetal commented, "The elders are up now, all of them getting some prey." She gestured at the fresh-kill pile. "I suggest you ask them if you can clean their nests though, or you'll never hear the end of it if you don't."

"Thanks for the advice," Icepaw meowed, padding towards the fresh-kill pile where he could see the elders picking through it, looking for the freshest pieces of prey or their own personal favorites.

Dipping his head, Icepaw meowed, "May I clean out your nests and get you some fresh moss?"

Cinderpelt lifted her gray head, "Of course you can, Icepaw. Hawkwing told us you'd be cleaning it."

So I was to clean it either way, Icepaw thought a bit resentfully as he padded into the Elders' den, setting to work picking out the tough bits of moss, being as careful and diligent as he'd been when he'd been cleaning out Icecloud's nest.

Rolling up the old moss into a ball once again, he had to make two trips to the dirt place with the bundles before he made his way towards Jayfeather's den once more. Taking the last of the moss, he heard Jayfeather meow as he left, "I want you to collect more later!"

"Okay!" Icepaw meowed past his fresh bundle, which was so large that his mouth ached with how far apart he'd stretched it.

The elders were eating their chosen prey outside the den, and he realized that they'd waited until the morning hunting patrol had returned with fresh prey. He couldn't blame them though. They'd served their clan well and deserved the easy life of elders.

Berrynose and Cloudtail glared at him as he walked into the den, but they didn't say anything to him. Not wanting to get scolded up them, he set to work carefully rearranging the moss in their nests.

Having just finished, all three elders came back in, and Cinderpelt laid down in her nest, purring, "Clean moss!"

"But not fresh," Berrynose grumbled, settling down into his own nest.

Icepaw lowered his head, "I'm sorry, Hawkwing told me to get moss from Jayfeather's den." Berrynose merely snorted.

"Ouch!" Cloudtail yowled, standing up from his nest. "There's a thorn in mine!"

Darting in quickly, Icepaw searched with his paws till he found the source of the problem, "It's a tough bit of moss, sorry about that."

Cloudtail grumbled as he settled down, though Icepaw couldn't catch what he was saying.

Icepaw padded out of the den, grateful that he'd finished that task. Glancing up at the sky, he saw it was near sunhigh. Wishing he'd eaten something earlier, he padded over the camp entrance, waiting for the rest of the hunting patrol. His heart sank as Loudfang padded over, followed by Hawking and Dawnstep. The pale grey she-cat shot him a dark look.

Hawkwing meowed, "We'll hunt near the Sky Oak since no cat has hunted there in a while. We'll hunt along the way there as well."

Icepaw nodded along with the rest of the patrol and took his place at the back of it, following Loudfang, who trotted behind Dawnstep.

As they trotted along, Icepaw froze as the scent of squirrel reached his nose. Believing himself to be stalking properly, he made his way towards the sound of the squirrel's heartbeat and the sound of it chewing on a nut. Before he was even close, the squirrel darted towards a tree and Icepaw raced after it, but even his speed couldn't climb trees, which the squirrel had done.

"Mouse-dung!" He spat irritably.

Loudfang snorted in amusement, "You call that stalking? A kit can do better!"

Icepaw turned around, ears hot with shame and rage. He had never hunted squirrels before, or any sort of prey apart from rabbits. Both Loudfang and Dawnstep's disdainful gazes scorched his pelt, and he didn't dare look at Hawkwing, though he knew it was inevitable that his mentor wouldn't scold him.

Hawkwing didn't say anything though, merely continuing to lead the patrol towards the Sky Oak.

Determined to learn how to hunt like the conceited Loudfang and Dawnstep, he watched them stalk a mouse, a bird, and a vole, Dawnstep catching the mouse and vole, while Loudfang got the bird. Icepaw even watched Hawkwing bring down a squirrel, and he silently vowed that he wouldn't let his mentor down again.

When they reached the Sky Oak, Hawkwing mewed softly, his deep voice barely audible above the rush of leaves above them, "We'll split up and hunt around the Sky Oak, don't stray too far from here though."

Nodding, they all split off to hunt in their own areas. Icepaw made sure to steer clear of Dawnstep and Loudfang, though he didn't want to interfere with Hawkwing's hunting either.

Finding a spot to hunt away from the others, he scented the air like Swiftwind had taught him, opening his mouth as he did so. Scenting another squirrel, he started to stalk towards it slowly, remembering how Hawkwing had distributed his weight and how he'd moved. Spotting the squirrel, he stayed downwind of it, creeping slowly through the grass, careful of any twigs. His pelt tingled with excitement as he came within striking range of the squirrel. He propelled himself forward with his hind legs, leaping at the squirrel, catching its neck in his jaws and snapping it quickly before it could make an alarm call. Eyes glowing with pride, he silently thanked StarClan for the squirrel. Burying it so he could get it later, he scented the air once more.

When Hawkwing called for the patrol to gather, Icepaw unburied his squirrel, feeling miserable, it was all he'd managed to catch. Setting it down, Loudfang snorted in disgust, "That won't even feed the elders!"

"Surely you can hunt better than that?" Dawnstep demanded her tone filled with scorn.

Hawkwing remained silent, merely glancing at Icepaw's catch, before he picked up his own catch of two robins and another squirrel, heading back to camp at a brisk trot. Dawnstep and Loudfang following him with their own catches, glaring at Icepaw as they trotted past, though he heard Dawnstep comment to Loudfang before they were out of hearing range, "At least the prey's running better, I can't remember the last time we caught this much!"

Icepaw dejectedly picked up his squirrel, following the patrol at a distance, though, keeping a few tail-lengths between himself and Loudfang's hindquarters.

Halfway back to camp, Icepaw froze, a familiar scent tickling his nose. His eyes widened in delight as he recognized the scent, rabbit! Dropping his squirrel, he cautiously made his way towards the delicious scent. He remained downwind of the rabbit, moving cautiously, knowing he'd have more luck if he could get closer.

The rabbit heard him a when he was still several tail-lengths away, and it leapt into the air, and Icepaw shot after it, unwilling to let the rabbit escape him. Putting on an enormous burst of speed, he managed to catch the rabbit just as it made to shoot into its den. The rabbit released a squeal of terror before Icepaw managed to kill it, and he once again gave thanks to StarClan for its life.

The pounding of paws made him turn as Hawkwing, Dawnstep, and Loudfang slid to a halt behind him.

Dawnstep questioned, eyeing the rabbit, "Did you scent that with the squirrel in your jaws?" He nodded. Her eyes didn't quite hold praise, but they were no longer scornful either.

Loudfang snorted, "Big deal, so you can catch rabbits!"

"It's quite large though," Dawnstep commented.

Hawkwing didn't comment on the rabbit, merely saying, "Let's head back to camp."

In camp, Icepaw received praise for his catch, even Cloudtail managed to give him some praise, though Berrynose didn't comment as they walked past the Apprentices' den.

Ashpaw exclaimed, upon seeing it, "Wow! I wouldn't have been able to catch a rabbit that big, it would have outrun me!"

"Mouse-brain!" Blazepaw cuffed Ashpaw fondly, "That's because we don't have the speed Icepaw does!"

Icepaw purred, "It almost got away from me!"

"It's a good thing it didn't!" Blazepaw commented. He asked quietly, "How's Hawkwing been?"

Icepaw sighed, "He didn't speak to me the whole time…"

"Not even to praise you?" Ashpaw demanded his eyes wide with shock. Icepaw shook his head back and forth. "That's rotten!"

Icepaw shrugged, "I really didn't expect him to comment…"

His den mates pressed against him comfortingly, and Icepaw was glad for their support. He was trying his hardest to prove that he wasn't going to be useless to ThunderClan, but nothing seemed to please his new mentor.

Icecloud padded out of the Nursery than and made her way to the fresh-kill pile. "Wow! What a catch!" She exclaimed grabbing the rabbit. Moonpelt, hearing her, padded out of the Warriors' den and joined her at the Nursery, sharing the rabbit with her.

Blazepaw explained, seeing Icepaw's perplexed expression, "Moonpelt is the father of Icecloud's kits."

"Oh!" Icepaw meowed.

Ashpaw shoved Icepaw's shoulder, "Come on, let's get something to eat."

While Ashpaw and Blazepaw eagerly trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, Icepaw hesitated, yes, he had hunted for his clan, but was he really allowed to eat?

Hawkwing finished eating his piece of fresh-kill and padded over to Icepaw, "Go eat. You hunted well for a cat that's never hunted in the forest before. Tomorrow we'll work on your stalking techniques, alone." He walked back to the Warriors' den, laying just outside it, and sharing tongues with Dawnstep.

Beaming, Icepaw joined Ashpaw and Blazepaw at the pile, picking up a vole, wondering what it tasted like, the smell made his mouth water though.

He padded back over to the Apprentices' den with Blazepaw and Ashpaw, enjoying their company as they ate and discussed their day. Once they finished their prey, they shared tongues, Icepaw feeling content.

That night, once Ashpaw and Blazepaw were asleep, Icepaw crept out of the den, lying down in the center of camp. Gazing up at Silverpelt, he wondered if his warrior ancestors were proud of what he and Emberpelt had done, or whether they were disappointed in them. Pushing his worries aside, he closed his eyes, wrapping his tail over his nose drifting off to sleep.

He awoke twice during the night once when he felt two warm bodies press against his back and once when a larger body pressed against his other side, but both times Icepaw was too tired to investigate.

A quarter moon later, Icepaw trotted out of camp around moonhigh for the fifth night in a row, and the eighth time since he'd been in ThunderClan. Making sure that no cat had seen him, he headed towards the WindClan border, lost in his thoughts.

His hunting had improved under Hawkwing's tutelage, even if the brown tabby remained as distant from him. Hawkwing had even told him that'd he'd start teaching him some fighting techniques tomorrow. None of this was on his mind though as he reached the border with WindClan.

Staring out across the hills, he sighed. Part of him desperately wanted to return and be a loyal WindClan warrior, but he knew that was impossible. He had accepted that he'd have to serve ThunderClan to the best of his abilities, but part of him wondered if he'd be able to sit amongst the cats of StarClan since he was breaking the Warrior Code. He wasn't being loyal to his birth clan.

"You come out here often," a deep meow stated, causing Icepaw to leap around in alarm, pelt bristling.

Hawkwing was sitting just a few tail-lengths away, his gaze hidden by the shadow of the tree he was sitting under.

"I guess I do," Icepaw stated, his fur slowly lying flat once more as he sat down once more, facing WindClan territory.

"Too often," Hawkwing growled. Icepaw heard him approach until the large warrior sat down next to him. "It makes me wonder where your loyalties really lie." Icepaw didn't say anything, merely lowering his gaze, staring at the ground at his paws.

Hawkwing asked, turning his head to gaze at Icepaw, "What's on your mind?"

"A lot," Icepaw mewed softly. He took a deep breath, deciding to confide his worries to his mentor. "I'm afraid that I'm not obeying the Warrior Code by serving ThunderClan, since they're not my birth clan! And…and I'm also afraid that StarClan won't accept me into their ranks because of it…"

Hawkwing chuckled, "You're too young to be worrying about joining StarClan!"

Icepaw's eyes were wide with shock. He had never heard his mentor laugh, much less seen him smile.

Standing up, Hawkwing gazed up at Silverpelt, "Besides, tell me where in the Warrior Code it states that you must serve your birth clan."

Icepaw recited, "Defend your clan, even at the cost of your life. You may have friendships with cats from other clans, but your loyalty must remain to your clan."

"Where does it say birth clan?" Hawkwing again questioned, turning his ice blue eyes on Icepaw once more. "It doesn't. It just says defend YOUR clan. Is WindClan your clan? They banished you and Emberpelt, they are no longer your clan." His gaze turned hard, as did his tone as he growled, "But if you truly believe your loyalties are with WindClan, go back, and do not return. ThunderClan only needs loyal warriors, not half-hearted mouse-brains!" He turned away from Icepaw, heading back towards camp. As Icepaw turned back to gaze at the hills, Hawkwing meowed over his shoulder, "Icepaw…I believe you have a lot to give ThunderClan, but if you do go back, WindClan will be mouse-brained to turn you away." With that, he padded into the shadows of the forest, heading back towards camp.

Icepaw stared at the familiar hills of WindClan territory, and he found himself lifting a paw to cross the border, but a soft voice on the breeze whispered in his ear, "No, Icepaw. You're destiny doesn't reside in WindClan."

What do you know? Icepaw thought, annoyed, though he pulled his paw back, he had to think this decision through. He recalled all that Swiftwind had taught him about the Warrior Code and how WindClan treated the Warrior Code, then he thought of Hawkwing, who truly seemed to care, enough to let Icepaw know that he'd miss him. He thought of his friends, his father, and the other cats of ThunderClan that had welcomed him into their clan and how they looked at the Warrior Code.

Taking a deep breath, Icepaw turned around, knowing that he was leaving part of himself at the border, the part of him that would always long to return. Kicking up grass and soil as if he was covering his dirt, he bounded back towards camp, knowing where his loyalties truly lied.


	9. Chapter 8

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

Blazepaw sighed as he stood up stiffly, having laid next to Icepaw for the umpteenth night in a row. It had been a quarter moon since Icepaw and Emberpelt had joined the clan, and although Cloudtail, Berrynose, Loudfang, and Dawnstep still needed some convincing of their trustworthiness, the rest of the clan seemed glad to have the two cats. That being said, Blazepaw was seriously debating cuffing Icepaw over the head for his stubbornness of insisting to sleep outside, and sometimes wandering out of camp in the middle of the night as well, like last night.

About to give Icepaw a good prod in the side to wake him up, Blazepaw stared in surprise at Emberpelt's ginger and white pelt. For all the nights he'd been sleeping next to Icepaw and Ashpaw outside, he had never noticed the warrior.

I guess it makes sense, he thought, still giving Icepaw a hard prod in the side to wake him up.

"Wah?" Icepaw lifted his head and looked around groggily. He blinked several times in surprise as he gazed at first Blazepaw, then Ashpaw, and finally Emberpelt. "Do you all sleep out here with me all the time?"

"Yeah, mouse-brain," Blazepaw growled, though his tone was only half-angry.

Ashpaw moved next to him, stretching, before he sat up, "Morning sleepy-heads!"

Rolling his eyes, Blazepaw meowed, "We all have battle training today, and we don't want to keep our mentors waiting."

"That brings back memories," Emberpelt yawned, having been awakened by their talking. "Battle training and being eager for my first battle," he stood up, taking a few steps forward and stretching, arching his back a bit as he did so. "Then I actually saw battle and I'm now a warrior wishing I could go back to being your age."

Icepaw rolled his eyes, "What's so good about being an apprentice? We just get ordered around all the time."

Emberpelt purred, "Being a warrior's not that different, you still get ordered around."

"Yeah, but you have more freedom," Icepaw argued.

Flicking his tail over Icepaw's ears, Emberpelt purred, "Not that much more. Where would we be without some orders and duties to attend to?" Emberpelt's name was yowled by an impatient Dawnstep. He bounded towards the morning hunting patrol.

"Emberpelt's pretty cool," Ashpaw meowed.

Icepaw nodded, but he didn't say anything.

I wonder what's on his mind? Blazepaw didn't pester Icepaw though, knowing his friend liked to keep his thoughts to himself sometimes. Instead, he asked, "So what moves do you think we're learning today, Ashpaw?"

"Hopefully we're not just reviewing the front paw attacks, those are so boring!" Ashpaw complained.

Icepaw stood up and stretched, meowing, "Haven't you learned the belly rake yet or the back kick?"

"You've learned that already?" Ashpaw meowed, wide-eyed. "I didn't learn those until I was at least a moon into my training!"

Icepaw nodded, "Back in WindClan."

"I'm jealous!" Ashpaw exclaimed.

Whiskers twitching, Blazepaw meowed, "Well maybe they'll go over that today, but first, let's get something to eat!" Padding over to the fresh-kill pile, he noted how measly it looked. "It's getting smaller everyday…"

"Leaf-bare's truly on the way," Icepaw meowed.

Ashpaw protested, "But we're only just entering Leaf-fall!"

Overhearing them as he grabbed a piece of fresh-kill, Moonpelt meowed, "We have a small territory compared to the other clans, we run out of prey sooner than the other clans." His gaze worriedly rested on the Nursery, "We need to make a bid for more territory soon." Seeing their wide-eyed expressions, he reassured them, "But this morning's hunting patrol will bring back more prey for the fresh-kill pile, and it'll be replenished." Moonpelt padded over to the Nursery, a black bird in his jaws.

All three of them picked up a mouse, not wanting to take any of the bigger pieces of prey, leaving them for the elders.

Biting into his mouse, Blazepaw gazed worriedly around the clearing, what will happen to us if we can't support ourselves through Leaf-bare? We're already having problems with Greenleaf!

"We'll make it through!" Ashpaw meowed past his mouthful of mouse, "The clan's been doing it long before we were born!"

Blazepaw noticed that Icepaw was looking around the clearing worriedly as well as his friend murmured, "But even Moonpelt, our clan deputy was worried…"

"You two are depressing," Ashpaw grouched, finishing off his mouse. "Worrying won't help our clan!"

"Well said," Mousewhisker purred as he walked over to the Apprentices' den with Rosepetal and Hawkwing. "Ready for some training?"

Ashpaw reared onto his hind legs, "Are we ever!" He batted the air with his paws.

"Don't waste all your energy here," Mousewhisker meowed, his whiskers twitching.

Rosepetal kneaded the ground with her claws, "Let's get going!" Without waiting for the others she bounded towards the camp entrance, and Blazepaw tore after her, having already expected his mentor to do so.

Blazepaw wasn't surprised to find themselves as the first in the training hollow. Hawkwing and Icepaw came in a few pawsteps behind them, but Mousewhisker and Ashpaw took their sweet old time.

"Always rushing about!" Mousewhisker grumbled.

Purring, Rosepetal teased, "The early cat catches the bird!"

"But the steady hunter always brings back prey!" Mousewhisker stated.

Hawkwing meowed, his deep tones cutting across the teasing, "Shall we have Icepaw and Blazepaw practice first?"

"Blazepaw's ready," Rosepetal agreed, nudging Blazepaw forward.

Feeling uncomfortable facing Icepaw, Blazepaw still tried to look like he was ready.

"We're just seeing what you both know so far," Hawkwing reassured them. Not that Icepaw seemed to need it.

Blazepaw decided to make the first move, rushing forward aiming at Icepaw's forelegs, intent on knocking them out from under him.

With ease, Icepaw dodged his attack, rearing onto his hind legs, and crashing down on Blazepaw, knocking the wind out of him.

Leaping immediately off him, Icepaw looked embarrassed and startled at how easily he'd defeated Blazepaw.

Finally catching his breath, Blazepaw sat up, "That was amazing! You learned that back in WindClan?"

"Yeah…" Icepaw meowed, though he wouldn't meet Blazepaw's gaze.

Mousewhisker meowed, "Perhaps Ashpaw would be a better opponent for Icepaw since he seems to have had quite a bit of training.

Nodding in agreement, Rosepetal flicked her tail for Blazepaw to sit beside her. "Watch them carefully," she whispered in his ear. He nodded eager to see how good both his denmates were.

The two circled each other, Ashpaw's slightly larger frame looking intimidating as he circled Icepaw, but Icepaw looked no less ferocious, his tail lashing the air and teeth bared. If he hadn't known any better, Blazepaw would have sworn that the two were enemies.

Ashpaw made the first move, experimentally striking at the side of Icepaw's head with sheathed claws. Ducking to the side, Icepaw leapt into the air, obviously aiming at Ashpaw's back, and Blazepaw could tell that Ashpaw had expected the maneuver as the gray tom rolled onto his back and met Icepaw with all four feet, pushing Icepaw up into the air and across the hollow, the white and ginger apprentice landing with a thud on the ground.

Obviously impressed, Hawkwing commented as Icepaw got to his paws, "Ashpaw's well trained. He'll definitely be made a warrior soon."

Mousewhisker and Ashpaw purred in perfect unison. Mousewhisker commented, "Icepaw will make a fierce warrior with the right training, I can already see him calculating his moves and determining when to strike, but also rolling with what comes at him."

"A natural warrior," Hawkwing agreed.

Blazepaw beamed with pride for his two denmates, both of them would definitely be great warriors. A huff from Rosepetal distracted him though. "And Blazepaw?" his mentor growled.

Both toms looked embarrassed, but Hawkwing recovered a bit faster than Mousewhisker, "Blazepaw's a fine hunter, there's no better as far as the apprentices go!" Mousewhisker nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Blazepaw," Rosepetal snapped, shoving him with her nose. "Let's go practice those battle moves."

Blazepaw dug his claws into the ground, not quite understanding his mentor's anger. It was no surprise to him that he wasn't as well trained as his denmates since he had only just started his battle training.

Rosepetal was in a foul mood though, and Blazepaw had to let her shove him out of the clearing. "Praising the other two but not you," she growled under her breath. "No consideration to your feelings!"

That explains everything, Blazepaw thought. "It's okay that they didn't praise me. I don't have as much training as either Icepaw or Ashpaw!"

"They could have said something!" Rosepetal snapped, and Blazepaw recognized the signs of a rant coming on. "I mean, honestly, what if you had been…!"

Blazepaw sat down with a sigh, letting his mentor rant, though he didn't focus on what she was saying. Usually her rants were more about her pride than anything else, and Blazepaw had learned how to time his nods of agreement since it was pointless to argue with his mentor.

Swiveling one ear around to listen to the other sounds of the forest, he tensed as a screech of pain was brought to his ears by the strong breeze that was blowing through the forest. Straining for any other sounds, he heard yet another screech of pain and he leapt to his paws, turning to face Rosepetal, eyes wide with shock, "The camp's under attack!"

Rosepetal didn't doubt him, immediately going into action, "Go get the others I'll see what's going on in camp!" She bounded away towards camp.

Moving swiftly, Blazepaw darted back to the training hollow, and he yowled as he got close, "Hurry! The camp's under attack!" This brought all of them crashing through the undergrowth to him, and they all bounded back to camp.

As they got closer, Hawkwing and Mousewhisker slowed, listening for the sounds of battle that should have been loud and clear by now. "Something's not right," Mousewhisker murmured. Hawkwing nodded in agreement.

Rosepetal met them outside of camp, looking furious, and she snarled at Blazepaw, "I go charging into camp, yowling a battle cry only to find that the camp's fine and that I woke up Berrynose and Cloudtail!" Blazepaw shrank away from his mentor's rage, "I don't know what's gotten into you, Blazepaw, to make up such a thing, but for the next two days you'll be cleaning out all the nests in camp and searching the elders' fur for ticks!" With a lash of her tail she stalked back into camp, pelt bristling along her spine.

Blazepaw turned to Hawkwing and Mousewhisker, "I swear, I…" The two warriors walked past him not saying a word.

Turning desperately to his denmates, he meowed, "I heard two screeches of pain on the breeze, I know I did."

"We believe you," Ashpaw reassured him. "Right, Icepaw?"

"Yeah," Icepaw meowed, nodding in agreement.

Brushing his pelt against Blazepaw's, Ashpaw mewed, "Let's head back into camp."

Blazepaw nodded and started to follow Ashpaw when he paused, noticing that Icepaw wasn't following, "Everything all right, Icepaw?"

"Yeah," Icepaw meowed. "Go on in, I'll catch up."

Perplexed at Icepaw's strange behavior, but not wanting to irritate his friend, Blazepaw walked back into camp, trying to recall whose screeches of pain he'd heard on the wind. Pushing through the thorn bushes, he froze as he spotted Emberpelt and a shiver ran through his fur. Emberpelt's screech had been the first one he'd heard. He wasn't sure how he knew this, still not being that familiar with the ginger and white warrior's meow, but he knew it with absolute certainty that Emberpelt's screech had been the first one to reach his ears. Wracking his brain, he tried to figure out who the second screech belonged to when a yowl split the air behind him and he turned to see Icepaw charging through the thorn bushes, his ear torn. Sliding to a halt in the center of the clearing, Icepaw yowled, "WindClan's attacking! They've just reached the top of the hollow!"


	10. Chapter 9

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

Icepaw turned around to face the entrance to the camp, and no cat doubted his warning this time as the caterwauls of WindClan warriors reached their ears, Thistlestar's dusty, white pelt was the first to shot into the clearing, the reason Icepaw's ear was torn. He thought he had smelled the familiar scents of his old clan at the top of the hollow, and he'd been right, meeting Thistlestar as the WindClan leader leapt towards the hollow, several warriors' hard on his paws. Icepaw had been lucky to tear his ear free from the leader's jaws and rush down to warn the camp before he'd been either ripped to shreds by Thistlestar, or overwhelmed by the rest of the attacking patrol.

Thistlestar leapt at the nearest warrior, Dawnstep, the gray she-cat meeting him head on with a ferocious screech of fury. More swift-footed warriors poured in after him, and Icepaw had to dodge to the side quickly as Springpaw leapt at him, the nimble light brown she-cat recovering quickly enough to dodge his claws, leaving him swiping at air.

Snarling, "Traitor!" Springpaw leapt at him once more, but instead of leaping to the side like before, Icepaw ducked low to the ground, letting Springpaw sail right over him.

The she-cat landed behind him, looking baffled. Taking advantage of her confusion, Icepaw lashed out with his back legs, kicking Springpaw's hind legs out from under her. Screeching in shock, she collapsed onto the ground and Icepaw quickly leapt onto her side, pinning her to the ground. Keeping her pinned with his front legs he used his hind legs to claw fur off her side, while he bit her shoulder, biting down hard, his teeth hitting bone.

Releasing another screech of pain, Springpaw wriggled to get free, and Icepaw got off her, and Springpaw was up in an instant and fleeing from the clearing.

Surprised at his easy victory, Icepaw heard the pounding of paw steps behind him and he turned, but not quickly enough, as a snarling wall of white fur slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him.

"You and Emberpelt are traitors to the clan!" a familiar voice growled into his ear. "Thistlestar said that if we saw you we were to show no mercy!"

Recognizing Runningcloud's voice and scent as he regained his breath, Icepaw struggled to get Runningcloud off of him, but his struggling was to no avail. Grinning at Icepaw's struggles, Runningcloud started to batter his exposed side with his hind legs.

Icepaw struggled harder as he yowled in pain, feeling blood already welling up as Runningcloud's claws tore into his side.

With a snarl, Runningcloud made to bite his neck, when his snarl turned into a surprised yowl, and Icepaw no longer felt the tom's weight on him.

Scrambling to his paws, Icepaw looked around and spotted his mentor, Hawkwing, fighting the white tom, his eyes were blazing as he gave the tom heavy blows from his front paws, showing no mercy to the WindClan cat.

Looking around the clearing, Icepaw tried to see where he could be of help, he could see Dawnstep fighting his mother, Flowerstep, both she-cats' expressions were fierce as they snarled and screeched. While Mousewhisker and Ashpaw were fighting side by side against Darktail and Spiderpaw. Rosepetal and Morningbreeze were a whirling mass of fur, claws and teeth, Rosepetal fighting as if all of LionClan was contained within her.

Worry prickled Icepaw's pelt when he didn't see Emberpelt or Blazepaw, but it was soon replaced with fury as he spotted Thistlestar and Breezefoot stalking towards the Medicine Cat's den, with a yowl, he tore across the clearing, weaving through the fighting cats. There was no way those two were going to get at the supplies in Jayfeather's den. Two ginger shapes beat him to the two WindClan cats though, Foxstar and Blazepaw leaping at the two cats, but while Foxstar knocked Thistlestar aside, Blazepaw landed on Breezefoot's back, the she-cat still managing to keep her paws though. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Icepaw leapt at Breezefoot's haunches, his claws digging into her fur.

Screeching in pain and fury, Breezefoot tried to roll to dislodge both Blazepaw and Icepaw, but Icepaw kept her somewhat immobile. Icepaw bit down on her lashing tail, and Breezefoot screeched in pain again, struggling to dislodge the two apprentices. With a swift movement, Blazepaw sank his teeth into Breezefoot's ear as she tried to knock the back of her head against his muzzle, now screeching in just pain, Breezefoot shook off Icepaw and Blazepaw leapt off her back as the she-cat tore out of camp, scrambling up the ravine.

Panting, Icepaw asked, "You'll be all right keeping Jayfeather's den safe?"

Before Blazepaw could answer, an irritable hiss came from within the den, "I could have taken care of her myself!"

"I'll be fine," Blazepaw meowed, his whiskers twitching as he padded into the Medicine Cat's den to help keep Jayfeather and his medicinal supplies safe.

Icepaw heard a screech from across the clearing, and he recognized it as Icecloud, the queen obviously in distress.

Fury propelled him once more across the clearing, weaving through the combatants again, and though a couple WindClan warriors tried to stop his progress, but the ThunderClan warriors managed to keep them at bay.

Icepaw could see Icecloud's furious face within the confines of the Nursery as she hissed at the WindClan warrior that was trying to gain entrance, but several different colored paws darted out of the den, belonging to the elders' as they helped Icecloud to keep the warrior at bay.

Releasing a battle cry, Icepaw threw himself at Icecloud and the elders' tormentor, his claws digging into the black and white fur of their attacker, who yowled in surprise as Icepaw's claws dug into their back.

Icepaw felt the warrior start to roll and he leapt off the warrior's back, landing on his paws and fluffing out his fur as he snarled, ready to take on the intruder.

Everything seemed to stand still as Swiftwind turned to face him; his old mentor's shocked expression mirroring his own. Time seemed to stand still as the sounds of battle rang throughout the clearing, the pair wondering if they'd really have to do battle against the other.

Can I face him? Icepaw wondered, but remembering how Swiftwind had been threatening Icecloud and the elders, he knew he would harden his heart and spirit and drive off Swiftwind if he had too. Swiftwind shook his head ever so slightly, and he started to go warily around Icepaw, heading towards the only exit to the camp, not breaking eye contact with him.

Emberpelt's screech of pain tore both their gazes apart, Thistlestar leaping away from the ginger and white warrior who lay on the ground, as Ashpaw leapt in front of Emberpelt, eyes wide with fear, but his teeth bared in a snarl, ready to take on Thistlestar.

Thistlestar's eyes grew cold as ice as he spotted Swiftwind standing next to Icepaw, but before he could react, Moonpelt, Loudfang, and Bumblestripe tore into the camp, the fresh warriors leaping into the fray.

"Retreat!" Thistlestar yowled, heading towards the camp's exit, letting Swiftwind go ahead of him, before; he too, left the camp.

Gazing around the clearing, Icepaw could see the extent of WindClan's sudden attack. His gaze resting on a bloodied, reddish-tabby pelt that lay unmoving in the clearing.

Icecloud had padded out of the Nursery, and her wail of grief shook Icepaw to his very core as the queen rushed over to Foxstar's motionless form.

The elders started to pad out of the Nursery, each of them staring in shock at Foxstar's body, several wails of grief starting to rise from other members of the clan when a screech of terror and pain came from above the camp.

Icepaw glanced up in surprise and his eyes widened in horror as a black and white shape plummeted to the ground from one of the sides of the ravine, landing with a heavy thud as it hit the ground.

"Swiftwind!" Icepaw yowled, recognizing his old-mentor's pelt as he rushed towards him.

Icepaw stared down at his old-mentor, frozen in horror. Swiftwind, lay there, gasping for breath, his eyes glazed with pain as blood poured from a nasty wound at his throat, and bubbled at his lips.

"Jayfeather!" Icepaw wailed, feeling like a useless kit, unsure of what to do.

The blind old tom was by his side in a minute, Blazepaw at his side as he checked Swiftwind over, sniffing at the black and white tom and gently touching the warrior's body with his paws to see how injured the warrior was.

Icepaw watched him with anxious eyes, and when Jayfeather shook his head, his shoulders showing defeat, Icepaw said, "There must be something you can do! At least ease his pain!" Swiftwind's labored breathing was growing harsher by the second.

"He can't swallow anything," Jayfeather meowed quietly. "Not with his throat slashed out like that."

Icepaw stared down at Swiftwind in horror, his old-mentor gazing up at him with urgency in his eyes as he gasped for breath, seemingly wanting Icepaw to understand something.

Realization striking him, Icepaw leaned down to hear what Swiftwind obviously wanted to tell him. Swiftwind's meow was hard to hear as the tom rasped, "Thistl…" His breath rattled in his chest, and the black and white warrior was still.

Icepaw stared at Swiftwind's still form, gently closing his mentor's eyes with his paw. Blazepaw pressed his pelt against his, and Jayfeather set his tail against his shoulder before Ashpaw's yowl for him sent him trotting over to the apprentice.

"I'm sorry," Blazepaw murmured, staring down at Swiftwind. "Was he your old mentor?"

"Yeah," Icepaw meowed, his thoughts dark with grief.

Blazepaw meowed, "The clan will mourn him."

"It should be WindClan that's mourning him, not ThunderClan," Icepaw snarled. "He was a loyal warrior and Thistlestar murdered him!"

Blazepaw moved away from him, eyes wide, "Thistlestar? But why…?"

"Because he wasn't supposed to show me mercy!" Icepaw spat, his grief overtaken by rage. "Runningcloud told me that Thistlestar had ordered the clan not to show Emberpelt or I any mercy! But Swiftwind refused to fight me…and I refused to fight him…" Another thought struck him, sending his anger away for the time being, "Is Foxstar all right?"

Blazepaw nodded, pointing with his tail to where Foxstar was still lying, though his head was up as he gazed around at his clan, "He just lost one of his lives, that's all."

"Blazepaw!" Jayfeather yowled, and Blazepaw bounded towards the medicine cat, as if he was his apprentice. Icepaw followed slowly, the adrenaline from earlier finally fading, his ear and side throbbing.

As he got nearer, he saw Ashpaw holding Emberpelt down as the ginger and white warrior thrashed on the ground, his face wasn't visible to Icepaw. Seeing that his den mate was having trouble holding his father down, Icepaw placed his paws on Emberpelt's haunches, receiving a grim smile from Ashpaw before he focused on keeping the warrior still as Jayfeather tried to examine Emberpelt's face.

"Calm down!" The old, blind tom spat, "I can't see how extensive the damage is if you won't hold still!"

Emberpelt's eyes were wide with fear as he lifted his head, but Icepaw's heart sank as he saw his father's damaged eyes, a haze covering them. He knew why his father was struggling so much even before Emberpelt yowled, terrified, "I can't see!"

Jayfeather meowed to them, "Ashpaw. Icepaw. Help him to my den, maybe he'll calm down then."

They nodded, getting off Emberpelt, though the warrior no longer struggled, Icepaw could only assume that he'd struggled so much believing that they were enemy warriors.

Nudging his father with his muzzle, Icepaw helped him get to his paws. His father swayed once he was standing, wounds on his neck, haunches, and back still bleeding heavily. Icepaw and Ashpaw supported Emberpelt between them as they slowly walked to Jayfeather's den.

As they passed Foxstar, Icepaw noticed his leader's gaze on Emberpelt, his gaze unreadable. Icepaw assumed his leader was merely worried about the loss of a warrior, since Emberpelt couldn't remain a warrior if he couldn't see.

Once Emberpelt was lying in one of the nest in Jayfeather's den, Icepaw and Ashpaw headed out into the clearing, leaving Blazepaw to help Jayfeather.

They sat just outside Jayfeather's den, exhaustion clouding both their eyes. Silence spanned between them for several seconds, but Ashpaw finally mewed, "It was Thistlestar…he was relentless. I saw him from where I was helping Mousewhisker…I tried to get over there, but it seemed like every warrior in WindClan was blocking my path!"

"It's all right," Icepaw murmured, pressing against Ashpaw's fur. "I know you did all you could, and it means a lot to me."

Ashpaw purred, before he stared at the motionless black and white body that the elders were moving into the center of the clearing, rearranging Swiftwind so that he looked like he was merely sleeping.

Leaving Ashpaw's side, he moved his tired and battered body as fast as he could towards the elders'. "Why are you doing that?"

"He was still a warrior," Cinderheart meowed. "Even though he attacked us, he did it because he was obeying his leader."

Cloudtail nodded sagely, "Unwilling to kill without reason, a true warrior!" Icepaw's eyes were wide with surprise. "I'm not deaf yet! And you were pretty near the Nursery when that white brute attacked you after you scared off that brown tabby." He gestured at Swiftwind's motionless form with his tail, "A warrior that obeyed the Warrior Code, much like myself!" He glared at Cinderheart and Berrynose when the pair chuckled softly with amusement, obviously knowing something about the old tom that Icepaw didn't know.

Snorting, Cloudtail made his way importantly towards Foxstar, who was heading towards Highledge. Managing to catch Foxstar before he leapt onto Highledge, Icepaw wondered if the white tom was telling Foxstar about what he'd heard.

"Might as well make ourselves comfortable," Cinderheart meowed as she sat down. "Foxstar will be talking to the clan now about our success at driving off WindClan."

Berrynose grumbled as he lay down, tucking his paws underneath him, "He'd better be telling us that we'll be attacking them too! That attack was unprovoked!"

Sure enough, once Cloudtail had finished speaking to him, Foxstar leapt stiffly up onto Highledge and yowled, though it wasn't the usual call, since the clan was scattered about the clearing. "I have never been prouder of ThunderClan," he began, gazing down at all of them, taking in each individual cat. "We drove off WindClan, letting them know that they cannot do as they please!" Yowls of approval sounded throughout the clearing, Icepaw's among them. "Even though we're injured now, we will make a comeback and this time we will attack WindClan, but not for the purposes that they attacked us. No. We will claim back the territory that we lost to them," Foxstar's eyes were now gleaming. "We will take back what we lost all those moons ago, and we will grow strong again!" More yowls of approval rang throughout the clearing, and Icepaw could tell that they all felt like he did, ready for another battle right then and there, regardless of how injured they were. "But until then," Foxstar continued. "We will recover and grow stronger." His eyes glowed as his gaze rested on Ashpaw, "Ashpaw. Today you fought like a true warrior of ThunderClan." Ashpaw's eyes lit up, straightening up proudly. "Mousewhisker," Foxstar's gaze went to the old gray and white tom. "Do you believe that Ashpaw is ready to be made a full warrior of this clan?"

Looking exhausted, Mousewhisker straightened up, looking proudly at Ashpaw before meowing, "He's ready."

Foxstar fixed his gaze on the sky, the sun shining brightly, oblivious to what ThunderClan had just endured, his voice rang out clear and strong, "I, Foxstar, leader of ThunderClan call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." His gaze rested on Ashpaw, "Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect this clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Ashpaw said solemnly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Ashpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Ashfall. StarClan honors your courage and loyalty and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Leaping stiffly down from Highledge, Foxstar touched his muzzle, to the newly named, Ashfall's head, and Ashfall licked his shoulder respectfully.

"Ashfall! Ashfall!" The clan yowled in approval.

Icepaw's yowl rang out with the rest of them, "Ashfall!"

Ashfall gazed around warmly, his chest swelled with pride.

Foxstar drew the clan's attention once more as he meowed, "You will keep vigil tonight as all new warriors' must. But you will rest before then." His gaze travelled around the clan, "Two more apprentices must be recognized for their bravery, and though they cannot be made warriors yet, I'd like to recognize Icepaw and Blazepaw for the courage they showed today in facing their enemies." His gaze rested on Icepaw, and Icepaw couldn't help wondering what was going through his leader's mind.

Foxstar looked away from him, "We will mourn the loss of a brave warrior, who died today, and although he was not a ThunderClan warrior, Cloudtail tells me that he deserves our respect, having been a true warrior of his clan, even if they didn't see his value."

Uneasy murmurings started, and all of them gazed at Swiftwind's body. Icepaw was surprised when Dawnstep meowed over the murmurs, "Why was he killed?"

"Because he wouldn't kill me, as ordered," Icepaw meowed, drawing every cat's attention to him. Feeling a bit uneasy, he continued, "Runningcloud, one of the warriors that invaded our camp, told me that Thistlestar ordered them to show Emberpelt and I no mercy if they ever saw us, and today, they finally did…"

"He speaks the truth," Cloudtail yowled. "I heard the flea-bag with my own ears."

Dawnstep gazed at Icepaw as she meowed, "So it was Thistlestar than that murdered him…" Icepaw nodded.

Foxstar made himself heard once more, "Thistlestar has also blinded Emberpelt, having been unable to kill the brave tom when Ashfall protected his fallen comrade." His gaze swept over his clan, "This is why we must continue to grow stronger to dethrone such cats that ignore the Warrior Code and put their own laws in place! Not only did they kill one of their own, but they forced one of our own to become an elder before his time, and although we'd all like to teach them the true meaning of what true warriors are, we must recover from this attack, and then go after those fox-hearts!" Yowls of approval rang out once more. "Now, unless there is something else, all who are injured go to Jayfeather's den. Those who are still fit need to take a patrol to make sure WindClan is truly gone."

"Foxstar," Mousewhisker meowed, standing up. "Now that Ashfall is a warrior, I am requesting to be allowed to join the elders. In this fight against WindClan my reflexes weren't what they should have been, and I found myself relying on my apprentice more than I should have been. My hunting has also become sloppy and I find myself unable to hunt prey for my clan."

Foxstar nodded to Mousewhisker, "Seeing as it is your wish to join the elders, your clan honors you and all the service you have given us. I call upon StarClan to give you many seasons of rest." He dipped his head to Mousewhisker, and Mousewhisker dipped his head back.

The gray and white tom glanced around and meowed, "It's been an honor and a pleasure to serve all of you for this long, but now I'm looking forward to some rest."

"Mousewhisker! Mousewhisker!" The clan chanted, honoring the old tom for his service, Ashfall's yowl drowning out the others as he cheered his mentor.

The clan started to split, those with injuries heading towards Jayfeather's den, while those with only a few scratches surrounded Moonpelt, Loudfang, and Bumblestripe, eager to assist in any way they possibly could.

Padding towards Jayfeather's den, he was surprised to find Blazepaw still there, helping the blind tom out. Icepaw was relieved to see that only a few cats were at Jayfeather's den, only himself, Dawnstep, and Rosepetal. Foxstar joined them, sitting down behind him.

Icepaw watched as Rosepetal stared at Blazepaw in surprise as he helped Jayfeather get some cobwebs on her shoulder.

Once Jayfeather finished with Rosepetal, he turned to Dawnstep, examining a nasty bite on the she-cat's neck. "Apply some marigold on her wound," Jayfeather ordered Blazepaw.

Hopping on three legs, Blazepaw put the pulp onto Dawnstep's wound before Jayfeather put some cobwebs over it.

Turning to Icepaw, Jayfeather sniffed his ear first and then sniffed his side, "You're going to have to rest in camp for several days. Your side is pretty torn up…Blazepaw!"

Blazepaw gently rubbed the pulp over his wounds and Icepaw hissed as pain shot through his wounds.

"That means it's working," Jayfeather stated, putting cobwebs over the pulp. Icepaw asked quietly, "How's Emberpelt doing?"

"He's sleeping," Jayfeather growled. "He won't be up for a while either."

Feeling like Jayfeather had read his mind, he padded out of his den, knowing that Emberpelt would feel awful when he learned that he hadn't been able to sit vigil with his friend's body.

Making his way towards Swiftwind's body, Icepaw lay down, pressing his nose into Swiftwind's fur, sickened by how quickly his old mentor's body had grown cold. "I learned a lot from you," Icepaw murmured. "You taught me what it means to be a true warrior…"

Several cats came to murmur good-byes to Swiftwind, some merely pressing their noses briefly against his fur, others speaking to Icepaw, though he barely heard Icecloud's murmurs of comfort, or Moonpelt's praises for the dead warrior and how well he'd trained Icepaw, or the elders' praises for how Swiftwind had followed the Warrior Code. It was Dawnstep who took his full attention, the she-cat prodding him in the side.

Icepaw lifted his head away from Swiftwind's fur to gaze at the gray she-cat as she meowed, "You obviously learned a lot from him not to turn on us when the patrol first arrived. You could have run or tried to beg for your life, instead, you told us they were here." Her gaze showed that she still didn't trust him fully, but that he'd earned a bit of her respect, and he dipped his head to her, knowing it'd still take a while before he had her full trust, but he had made some progress.

As Dawnstep left, Icepaw pressed his nose against Swiftwind's fur once more, and several more cats briefly mourned his loss, including Ashfall, Jayfeather, Blazepaw, and Foxstar, all of them staying near Swiftwind's body for several moments longer than the others.

Knowing that the elders would be preparing to bury Swiftwind soon, he remained where he was, remembering all that Swiftwind had taught him. Long fur pressing against his surprised him, but he didn't open his eyes. It wasn't until he heard Hawkwing's deep meow that he opened them, staring at his mentor as Hawkwing murmured, "You taught Icepaw well, helping him to understand his own heart and the Warrior Code. I will continue to build off of what you taught him, helping him to become the fine warrior that you and I are able to see in him."

Closing his eyes quickly once more as Hawkwing finished, unsure if he was even supposed to hear his mentor's murmured words, he felt Hawkwing nudge him.

Standing up, Icepaw saw Cloudtail, Cinderheart, Berrynose, and Mousewhisker waiting patiently behind him. Icepaw asked, hoping they'd understand, "Can you bury him at the border? He was still loyal to WindClan, Thistlestar just couldn't see that…"

"We'll bury him at the border," Mousewhisker promised.

Hawkwing meowed, "Go rest, Icepaw. I'll make sure the elders get to the border safely." He padded after the elders.

Exhausted, he padded into the Apprentices' den, wanting to feel the warmth of another pelt pressing against his.

Blazepaw was already curled up in there, fast asleep, and Icepaw curled up beside him, pressing against him for comfort.

Grief still heavy in his heart, he closed his eyes, the image of Swiftwind plummeting down to the clearing imprinted on his mind along with Emberpelt's terrified expression as he tried to see around him when his sight was forever gone.

Just when his exhausted body was about to overcome his active mind and caterwaul came from the Nursery, and Icepaw's head shot up along with Blazepaw's.

"What was that?" Blazepaw whispered.

Before Icepaw could answer, another caterwaul rang out and they shot out of the den, looking around for WindClan warriors again, but instead they watched Moonpelt's tail disappear into the Nursery. A few seconds later, Jayfeather appeared, moving as fast as his old body would let him, a bundle of herbs in his jaws.

Ashfall asked as he darted out of the Warriors' den, Loudfang and Rosepetal hot on his paws, "What's happening?"

Jayfeather snapped past his herbs, "Icecloud's kits are coming, and they're coming too soon!" He slipped into the Nursery than as yet another caterwaul rang out.


	11. Chapter 10

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

Gazing in surprise at Ashfall, Blazepaw wondered why the warrior hadn't been in the clearing already, sitting his vigil since it was already moonhigh. Maybe Moonpelt was going to wake him to start the vigil when Icecloud's kits started to come…

Foxstar approached the Warriors' den, murmuring something in Ashfall's ear, before the new warrior headed towards the camp entrance. Blazepaw could only assume that it was to start his vigil, away from all the commotion in the camp. Lying down outside the Nursery, Foxstar set his head on his paws, looking anxious.

Frowning, Icepaw mewed quietly, "Why is he lying there? I thought Moonpelt was Icecloud's mate."

"He is," Blazepaw answered. "Foxstar is Icecloud's brother."

Icepaw's eyes widened in surprised before he glanced back at the Nursery, his own blue eyes filled with worry for the queen.

Barely suppressing an amused purr at how worried his friend was, he turned his own gaze back on the Nursery as yet another yowl split the air. A few seconds later, Jayfeather poked his head out of the Nursery, and murmured something to Foxstar, who was up in an instant and padding over to the Apprentices' den. He opened his mouth to say something when an impatient yowl came from Jayfeather, "Blazepaw! Get over here!"

Looking annoyed, Foxstar stepped out of Blazepaw's way as he bounded towards the Nursery, Jayfeather already back inside. He registered Rosepetal's shocked expression as he darted into the Nursery, but he didn't fret over what it could mean.

Sliding into the den, he was gazed in shock at Icecloud as the queen lay panting on her side, eyes wide with pain and fear, and her nest torn to shreds. Moonpelt lay beside her, licking the top of her head and murmuring soft words of encouragement to his mate.

Jayfeather growled, "You've been in my den a lot today, I need you to bring me some borage leaves and some raspberry leaves."

"Right," Blazepaw meowed as he bounded out of the Nursery, making a beeline for Jayfeather's den. Pushing his way through the bramble tendrils, he went to the back of the den. Cold fear caused him to pause in terror, I don't know what borage or raspberry leaves look like!

An amused purr sounded beside him, and a gruff meow next to his ear caused him to jump, "I'll help you out this time."

Not exactly feeling reassured, but knowing that Jayfeather needed the leaves right away, he made to grab a pile of unfamiliar leaves, hoping that Yellowfang would really help him.

"Not those mouse-brain!" he heard the she-cat growl, blinking in surprise as he spotted her starry pelt moving towards a different pile. "These are borage leaves!"

Bounding over to them, he took several leaves down, taking in their scent and trying to remember their texture for later.

Yellowfang's faded shape was already standing somewhere else, "These are raspberry leaves."

Grabbing the raspberry leaves down, he noted their fuzzy texture and the jagged edges of the leaves. Blinking gratefully at Yellowfang, he was about to bolt back outside when an exhausted mew asked, "Blazepaw?"

Knowing it was Emberpelt, he set the leaves down, "It's me."

"What's going on?" Emberpelt asked, his blind gaze searching for things they could no longer see. "Why isn't Jayfeather in here?"

"Icecloud's kitting," Blazepaw answered, trying to keep his voice calm while wanting to dash back to the Nursery.

Emberpelt frowned, "That must have been the yowl I heard…"

"I have to head back," Blazepaw meowed hurriedly. "Jayfeather will be back once Icecloud's kits have been born!" He darted out of Jayfeather's den, across the clearing, and into the Nursery, setting the leaves down, splitting them apart murmuring, "Borage leaves. Raspberry leaves."

Jayfeather immediately started to chew up the raspberry leaves, making a quick pulp, "Eat this." Icecloud lapped it up obediently, she yowled again as her side heaved.

Feeling the borage leaves, Jayfeather's eyes widened in shock, and Blazepaw wondered what was wrong, "Did I grab the wrong leaves?"

"No…" Jayfeather meowed, shaking his head. "Go get some moss soaked in water…This is going to be a long night…"

Blazepaw didn't know how much time had passed, though he took in everything Jayfeather told him.

"Put your paw here," Jayfeather meowed, placing his own paw on Icecloud's side gently. "Can you feel the kits there?"

Carefully placing his paw near Jayfeather's, his eyes widened in surprise as he felt the kits, and then a shudder passed through Icecloud's side and she screeched, "Get your paws off me!"

Blazepaw leapt back in alarm, "Did I hurt her?"

"No," Jayfeather shook his head. "Some queens are just grouchier than others."

Icecloud snarled, another shudder passing through her, "You try having kits and we'll see how you feel!"

"Are the kits close to coming?" Moonpelt asked, his gaze showing how worried he was for his mate.

Placing his paw on Icecloud's side again, Jayfeather meowed, "Soon now, if all goes well."

A rustle near the entrance made Blazepaw whip around, hackles raised, images from the earlier battle flashing through his mind.

Cinderheart padded in, a thick stick in her jaws, "So she can bite down on it when the pains come." Her eyes shown, "I remember Leafpool giving this to me when I was kitting and you were getting some herbs, Jayfeather."

Nodding, Jayfeather grabbed the stick and gently set the stick near Icecloud, who took it in her jaws, biting down on it a second later as another pain came. "Thanks," she panted past the stick.

Cinderheart dipped her head before she backed out of the Nursery.

Blazepaw glanced wearily outside, the first rays of light seeping into the den as he licked a white she-kit, the third kit that Icecloud had given birth too.

"One more," Jayfeather reassured both Icecloud and Moonpelt.

Gently grabbing the kit's scruff, Blazepaw set the she-kit next to her two sisters, a gray she-kit and another white she-kit. Backing away from Icecloud, waiting for the last kit to be born, glancing outside once more.

A splintering sound drew his attention though as Icecloud bit down on the stick, spitting it out at the last second and releasing a caterwaul as the last kit slipped out.

Jayfeather quickly bit the sack encasing the kit, before he set the kit in front of Blazepaw, who immediately set to work, licking the kit dry.

While Blazepaw licked the kit, Jayfeather felt Icecloud's side, "That was definitely the last one." He grabbed the borage leaves and set them down in front of Icecloud, "When you have the strength, eat these, they'll help your milk supply."

Icecloud nodded wearily, her gaze focused on her last kit as Blazepaw continued to lick the gray and white kit's head.

"A tom," Jayfeather meowed, sniffing the small kit as Blazepaw continued to lick him. "He's small, but he seems healthy. Just keep a close eye on him."

Icecloud nodded while Moonpelt purred, murmuring softly in Icecloud's ear, "Four healthy kits!"

Finished licking the small kit dry, Blazepaw set him next to his sisters, Icecloud's purr finally joining Moonpelt's.

Jayfeather watched the family for a second longer before he padded out of the Nursery.

Blazepaw found himself rooted to the spot, still amazed at the birth of the four new kits. "Welcome to ThunderClan," he mewed softly before he asked, "What are you calling them?"

Icecloud glanced at Moonpelt, who nodded. Purring again, Icecloud touched one of the white she-kits, "This one will be Frostkit." She touched the gray she-kit with her tail next, "Silverkit." Her tail touched the second white she-kit, "Snowkit." Icecloud's tail finally rested on the tiny tom's small body, "And he'll be Thunderkit, to celebrate our victory against WindClan."

Rubbing his head against Icecloud's, Moonpelt purred, "Those are fine names for our kits."

Blazepaw nodded his agreement, backing out of the den to let the family have some peace and quiet. He had a feeling that Icecloud had named the small tom Thunderkit for more reasons other than just their victory. Hope for him to be strong is in that name, Blazepaw thought, glancing back at the Nursery, before he was mobbed by the clan.

"Do they have names yet?" Dawnstep questioned, while Hawkwing brushed against her.

Loudfang asked, "Is there really four kits?"

Other questions were voiced, before Foxstar caterwauled for silence, "Let Blazepaw rest. You'll get to see the new kits when Icecloud has rested, for now you'll have to wait." He gazed sternly around before meowing, "A dawn patrol needs to head out. Dawnstep, Loudfang, and Bumblestripe will go out, catch some prey while you're at it too. I want a hunting patrol consisting of Hawkwing, Icepaw, and Ashfall to go out at noon, while another border patrol that I'll lead with Rosepetal and Blazepaw will also head out."

The three cats dipped their heads and trotted towards the camp entrance, meowing to each other about the new kits.

Foxstar came up to Blazepaw bumping his shoulder with his own, "Jayfeather said that you were a big help, Blazepaw. I'm proud of you."

Feeling his ears getting warm, Blazepaw dipped his head respectfully to his father, "I'm glad he thought so, I felt a bit useless!"

Purring, Foxstar flicked his ears with his tail before he made his way to the Nursery. His feeling of joy faded as he heard his father mutter, "But what kind of clan have these kits been born into?"

Staring after Foxstar, eyes wide with shock, he padded towards the Apprentices' den. He knew Foxstar would do anything for ThunderClan, but apparently his father's faith in StarClan hadn't been established, and it seemed like he was also starting to doubt what type of clan ThunderClan was.

With a sigh, Blazepaw sank into his nest next to Icepaw, who he knew wasn't asleep. His friend stirred, lifting his head, blinking sleep out of his eyes, "Is Icecloud okay?"

"Yeah, she had four healthy kits," Blazepaw meowed. "Three she-kits and a tom."

"Did she name them?" Icepaw questioned.

He nodded, "Frostkit and Snowkit are she-kits with their mother's pelt, Silverkit has her father's pelt, while Thunderkit has a combination of the two."

"Thunderkit?"

"Yeah, Thunderkit," Blazepaw meowed, remembering the small tom.

Icepaw shrugged, curling up once more, his tail resting over his nose, "Maybe I'll see them before I have to go out with the hunting patrol."

"Maybe," Blazepaw agreed, hoping he could see how the kits were doing before the border patrol with his mentor and Foxstar.

As soon as he closed his eyes, his exhausted body was instantly asleep. He found himself in the strange camp once more, and this time he wasn't surprised when the two shadowy cats stepped out of the bushes, one seemed familiar though with its build and the way it walked. Blazepaw could swear that he'd seen a cat like that somewhere in camp.

"You still don't know?" An irritated growl sounded from behind him.

Turning around, Blazepaw couldn't stifle a purr as he recognized Yellowfang, the she-cat as grouchy as ever.

"Don't purr at me you mouse-brain!" She spat, "If you don't know who one of these cats is yet than I can't show Jayfeather either!"

"Why not?" Blazepaw questioned, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

Yellowfang calmed down, "Because, this is your part of the prophecy to figure out. Jayfeather already knows you're a part of the prophecy, you need to find out who one of these cats is."

"One does look familiar…" Blazepaw meowed, frowning a bit. "But why should I have to figure it out? I'm not a medicine cat."

Yellowfang snorted, "You're a fool…you really aren't following your heart, and the sad thing is, you don't even realize it…"

A paw poking his side woke him up, and Blazepaw looked around groggily, "Wah? What is it?"

"It's almost time for our patrols," Icepaw meowed. "If you want to go see the kits first, I'm going to check on Emberpelt."

Nodding, Blazepaw stood up, stretched, and padded out of the den. The elders were lying on a mound of rocks, chatting as they sunned themselves, while Moonpelt was out of the Nursery, back to doing his deputy duties, though he looked like he was ready to fly with the smile on his face and his tail held high. Dawnstep and Hawkwing were lying outside the Warriors' den, sharing a squirrel.

Purring, Blazepaw wondered if there'd be another queen soon with how Dawnstep and Hawkwing were getting along recently.

When he reached the Nursery entrance, he called out, "Can I come in?"

"Of course," came Icecloud's reply, and Blazepaw eagerly walked in, hoping to find that all was well with the kits.

Icecloud was lying more comfortably in her nest, which was no longer shredded, the moss having been changed. The kits were squirming near her belly, blindly finding their way around the nest.

Thunderkit was moving as well as the others, actually pushing past Silverkit as he found his mother's milk. Blazepaw still couldn't tell Snowkit and Frostkit apart.

"How can you tell which one's which?" Blazepaw purred, gesturing with his paw at the two sisters.

Icecloud purred back, "That's easy." She gently touched one of the white kit's head with her muzzle, the she-kit squirming as she did so, "This one is Frostkit, the feisty one." She moved, placing her muzzle on Snowkit's head, the kit cuddling closer, "And this sweet one is Snowkit."

"I guess you'll always be able to tell them apart," Blazepaw meowed, smiling at Icecloud.

Icecloud nodded, "I wish Brightfrost could have seen them… You must still miss her."

"I do," Blazepaw meowed, managing to speak past the sudden lump in his throat. "I forgot that Moonpelt and Brightfrost were littermates."

"A friend too many cats as well," Icecloud mewed softly, her gaze filled with sadness.

Feeling uncomfortable, he meowed, "I have to go on patrol. I'm glad you and your kits are all right."

"Come visit again!" Icecloud meowed as he darted out of the den. Taking a deep breath, he jumped as Icepaw's voice came from beside him, "Are you all right?"

Managing to recover quickly, he meowed, "Yeah." His tone changed to a purr, "They're really cute, especially now that their fur as really dried out!"

Not looking convinced, Icepaw padded inside, and Blazepaw was thankful that his friend didn't pester him anymore than Blazepaw pestered him.

"Blazepaw," his mentor called from over by the empty Apprentices' den. "Come over here…we need to talk."

Perplexed, Blazepaw hurried over to his mentor as he spotted his father coming down from his den. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Are you sure you want to become a warrior?" Rosepetal questioned, cutting right to the chase.

Blazepaw blinked in surprise, "What?"

"Are you sure you want to become a warrior?" Rosepetal repeated, scoffing the ground with one paw. "You…you worked really well with Jayfeather yesterday and this morning…I just want to make sure your heart is set on being a warrior."

Blazepaw was taken aback, "Of course I want to be a warrior! I was just helping Jayfeather out!"

His mentor relaxed, before she purred, "Good! I was hoping you'd say that!"

Foxstar yowled for them from the camp entrance, and Rosepetal meowed, "Let's go over there and get going so you can show him what you've learned so far!" She bounded across the clearing, and Blazepaw tore after her, glad that he'd reassured his mentor.

Once he and Rosepetal arrived, Foxstar meowed, "We're going to check the ShadowClan border since it hasn't been patrolled today."

They both nodded and followed Foxstar out of the camp, Blazepaw walking behind his mentor.

Foxstar set a brisk pace, making his way quickly to the Ancient Oak, where he set a diagonal path towards the old thunderpath, the grass along its edge being the border of their territory with ShadowClan, much smaller than back when the clans had first arrived at the lake, at least that's what the elders always told him along with the senior warriors.

The usual border markers had been left by ShadowClan, no other signs of the other clan's presence could be found. As they followed the curve of the thunderpath, Blazepaw paused, frowning, seeing two large raspberry leaves at the edge of the path, and two smaller leaves of the plant as well. While Foxstar and Rosepetal continued the patrol, Blazepaw sniffed at the leaves, perplexed. A soft mew whispered in his ear, startling him, "More warriors for ThunderClan…"

Blazepaw looked around, and he didn't see any other cats, and he didn't recognize the voice as Yellowfang's either. Still perplexed, Blazepaw looked around, and he froze as he spotted two amber slits glaring at him from behind some bushes, and a flash of bared teeth.

Before he could go investigate, Rosepetal meowed from up ahead, "Blazepaw? Are you coming?"

"Yeah!" Blazepaw meowed, glancing at the bushes once more, though no eyes glared at him anymore. Still feeling a bit confused, he caught up with his mentor and leader, continuing the patrol, deciding to keep the things he heard and saw to himself until he was sure of what he'd seen.


	12. Chapter 11

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_.

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

Hawkwing gazed at Icepaw worriedly as Icepaw weaved from side to side, carrying his catch of a squirrel and a robin, and the wound on his side had started to bleed. "Did Jayfeather tell you to stay in camp?" Hawkwing demanded.

"Yeah, but Foxstar said I had to go on patrol," Icepaw answered, making it into the camp, feeling a bit relieved that he'd made it back to camp.

Hawkwing cuffed him with his paw, "You listen to the Medicine Cat above the Clan leader! Go see Jayfeather and get some rest! I'll place your catch on the pile."

Feeling grateful to his mentor, he padded to Jayfeather's den, being greeted with a hiss of disbelief, before he started to receive a scolding, "Didn't I tell you to rest?"

"Yes, but the clan needs all the help it can get!" Icepaw argued.

Jayfeather spat, "You're not helping your clan by not healing!"

Emberpelt spoke up from where he lay in Jayfeather's den, "He's right, Icepaw. A cat is no good to his clan if he's not healthy."

"Or if he can't follow orders," Jayfeather muttered, placing cobwebs on Icepaw's side. "Now go rest, and you're not to leave the camp for the rest of today and not tomorrow either!"

Icepaw glared at Jayfeather, before meowing, "Yes, Jayfeather."

Lashing his tail, the medicine cat stalked over to Emberpelt. Icepaw asked, "How are you doing, Emberpelt?"

Before Emberpelt could answer, Jayfeather meowed, still irritated, "He'll have to stay here for a couple more days. I want to make sure his wounds don't get infected!"

"I'm fine," Emberpelt finally managed to meow, as Jayfeather stalked to the back of his den. "As fine as I can be…" The ginger and white tom's blind eyes showed his grief for his friend, Icepaw having told him earlier that day.

Icepaw padded up to him and pressed his nose against his father's flank, "Once you're well, I'll take you to where he's buried so you can pay your respects."

"I'd like that," Emberpelt purred.

Jayfeather snapped as he came back, setting some herbs on the ground, "Neither of you are going anywhere till I give the okay!"

"I'm going to go rest right now," Icepaw meowed hurriedly, not wanting to anger the medicine cat further, though he did lash his tail once he was outside the den. "There's nothing to do," he complained, knowing he was going to be spending two boring days in camp.

"What do you mean there's nothing to do?" Moonpelt questioned from where he stood near the fresh-kill pile.

Icepaw scoffed the ground with a paw, embarrassed that the deputy had heard him, "I'm stuck in camp for the rest of today and tomorrow, I want to help out the Clan…"

Moonpelt frowned, "You can always clean out the dens."

Not the kind of help I had in mind… Icepaw thought.

"There's always plenty to do for the clan, even if you're confined to camp," Moonpelt continued. "Bedding that needs to be changed, elders need help getting ticks out of their fur…"

Icepaw looked at the ground; You'd think I was a kit with the way he keeps going on and on!

"It'll be good for you to help out with those tasks," Moonpelt finished.

Icepaw dipped his head respectfully to Moonpelt, "Right." Padding away from the deputy, he lay down in the Apprentices' den, amazed at how good it felt to lie down. Okay, so Jayfeather was right, I do need a rest… Lowering his head onto his paws, he closed his eyes, wanting to sleep. His eyes snapped back open as Blazepaw came in, looking distracted as he lay down beside him.

"What's up?" Icepaw questioned, lifting his head. Blazepaw didn't answer him. Perplexed, Icepaw tried again, "What's wrong?" Still no response came from the ginger apprentice. Standing up, Icepaw waved a paw in front of Blazepaw's face, "Blazepaw!"

He jumped, his fur fluffing out in shock, "What?"

"I asked you what's wrong," Icepaw responded, frowning. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Blazepaw answered, his fur lying flat once more.

Icepaw wasn't convinced, "You look like you've got something on your mind."

"It's nothing," Blazepaw meowed, laying down again. "I'm just tired from the patrol."

"All right," Icepaw meowed, lying down as well. He was fairly certain that something else was on Blazepaw's mind, but respected his friend's privacy. Closing his eyes once more, he fell asleep.

A fierce white and ginger colored tom ripped through the ranks of the enemy cats that dared to harm his clan. With his right paw being ginger colored along with the top of his head, his chest, his right flank, and a ginger splotch on his left side; he was the fiercest warrior to ever set foot in the clan territories. Even with his crooked jaw his bite was to be feared.

He smirked with satisfaction as the enemy retreated. He leapt up onto a rock and yowled, "Fear me enemies of ThunderClan, for I am Ice-!"

Movement next to him jerked him awake and Icepaw lifted his head, moonlight shining into the den on Blazepaw's tail as it slipped out of the den.

Where's he off to? Icepaw wondered, padding out of the den. "Blazepaw?" He called as he spotted his friend halfway across the clearing.

Blazepaw jumped, whipping around, though he relaxed as he realized it was him, "I'm just heading to the dirtplace."

"All right," Icepaw meowed, heading back into the Apprentices' den. Lying back down, he waited for Blazepaw to return. He waited, and waited, but his friend never returned to the den while he was awake. He fell asleep, hoping Blazepaw was all right.

Sunlight streamed into the den, waking Icepaw, who yawned as he sat up. Feeling fur pressing against his hindquarters, he was glad to see Blazepaw lying in his nest.

Rosepetal's meow sounded from the entrance to the den, "Blazepaw!"

Lifting his head, Blazepaw stretched, although he still looked exhausted, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Were you up all night?" Icepaw questioned.

"Um, yeah," Blazepaw meowed, looking nervous. "I must have eaten a bad piece of fresh-kill, I was up all night going to the dirtplace, but I'm better now!" Rosepetal's meow sounded again and Blazepaw darted out of the den, calling over his shoulder, "See you later!"

Confused by Blazepaw's strange behavior, Icepaw padded out of the den just in time to spot his mentor as he left with a hunting patrol consisting of Dawnstep and Ashfall, the three cats eagerly hurrying out of camp, their paw steps reminded Icepaw that he couldn't go with them, remembering what Jayfeather had told him the day before.

Not quite ready to start cleaning out the nests in the camp, he sat down, remembering his dream from the night before. I haven't had that dream since I was a kit back in WindClan…He spotted Ashfall approaching him and he smiled at his friend.

"Hey, Ashfall!" Icepaw called out, purposely using his friend's new name.

Ashfall purred, "That never gets old!"

"So what's up?" Icepaw asked.

"Moonpelt wanted me to tell you that if you're bored, you can definitely clean out the old moss in the Warriors' den," Ashfall's whiskers twitched in amusement.

Ears hot with embarrassment, he meowed, "Why is he treating me like a kit?"

"Maybe because he's constantly with his new kits?" Ashfall suggested.

Icepaw purred with amusement, "Probably. I'd guess I'd better get to work…it is better than lying around camp."

"And it gives every other cat a chance to do something else," Ashfall meowed. "Like not cleaning out the Warriors' den and going hunting!"

Spitting crossly, though he wasn't really angry with his friend, he leapt at the gray warrior, the two play fighting.

They split apart after a few moments of wrestling, Ashfall meowing, "Well since you're doing the newest warrior's job, I'll make sure to catch you a fat rabbit!"

"You're not fast enough to catch a rabbit!" Icepaw purred.

"Fine," Ashfall growled good-naturedly. "It'll be an old, stringy rabbit!" With that he headed towards the camp entrance.

Whiskers twitching in amusement, Icepaw padded towards the Warriors' den. As he headed inside he had to back up quickly so as not to collide with Loudfang.

"What are you doing here?" Loudfang growled.

Icepaw met the warrior's glare, "I'm cleaning out the nests since I don't have anything else to do while I'm stuck in camp while my side heals!"

Loudfang snorted, walking past Icepaw and heading towards the fresh-kill pile.

Rolling his eyes, Icepaw entered the, now empty, den, slowly going through each nest and picking out the tough, old bits of moss, leaving a pile outside the den. Once he'd finished picking through it, he grabbed it all, taking it to the dirtplace before he headed back to the Warriors' den, silently groaning as he spotted Loudfang's white-tipped tail heading into it.

Steeling himself for any jibes from the tiger-striped warrior, he headed inside, surprised to see Loudfang setting down some fresh moss.

"Thanks," Icepaw meowed, surprised at this gesture of kindness.

Loudfang gave him a cold look, "It's just because Jayfeather ordered me to get you some. He doesn't want you reopening your wound."

At least he didn't add anything about my WindClan heritage, Icepaw thought, setting to work spreading new moss in each of the nests. He found that he had plenty of fresh moss left to use for the Nursery, and possibly some for the Elders' nests too.

Grabbing it in his jaws, he padded over to the Nursery. Mewling could be heard from the kits inside, and he wasn't the least bit surprised when he had to quickly step aside as three bundles of fluffy fur darted out, followed by a slower fourth one. Icecloud and Moonpelt came out behind them, both of them purring with amusement.

"Hello, Icepaw," Icecloud meowed, spotting him. "Are you here to clean out the Nursery?"

He set the moss on the ground, "Yes. I need to keep busy; I can't stand lying around camp all day with nothing to do!"

She purred in amusement, while Moonpelt nodded at him, "It's good that you know that there are other ways to serve the clan."

Yeah, yeah, it doesn't mean that I like it! He thought, heading into the Nursery, flinching as he smelled the soiled moss, knowing he'd have to clean it all out. Resigning himself to the task at paw, he set to work.

Padding out of the Nursery, glad to have finished, he watched the kits play under the watchful eyes of Icecloud, Moonpelt trotting towards the entrance with the sunhigh patrol.

Content to watch the kits play before he cleaned out the Elders' den, he blinked in surprise as Thunderkit darted over to him, eyes bright with excitement, his littermates' slightly longer legs easily catching up with, and overtaking him quickly, each of them sliding to a halt in front of him.

"Who are you?" one of the white she-kits asked.

Icepaw answered, "I'm Icepaw."

"You're an apprentice!" Silverkit squeaked happily. "You're the first one we've met today!"

Icepaw purred, "That's because I'm the only one in camp at the moment."

"Why are you in camp?" the same white she-kit asked, "Are you done with training?"

"I was injured in the recent battle, and Jayfeather ordered me to stay in camp," Icepaw explained. The kits stared up at him wide-eyed, their eyes darting to his side and ear.

"You must be the bravest cat ever!" Thunderkit exclaimed.

Icepaw shook his head, "All the cats of ThunderClan are brave. We all fought hard to defend our clan."

The other white she-kit scoffed the ground with one paw, "Will you show us some battle moves."

"You're too young to learn any moves yet," Icepaw meowed to a chorus of whining kits.

Icecloud stood up then, seeing Silverkit yawn, "Besides, you've all had an eventful day and need to get some rest."

"But Icecloud!" Silverkit complained, "We're not tired!"

"We want to explore some more!" Thunderkit mewed.

Icecloud purred, "You can explore more later!" She grabbed Silverkit's scruff, carrying the kit into the Nursery, the other three following reluctantly.

Glancing at the small ball of fresh moss that was left, Icepaw wadded it into a ball and batted it over to Thunderkit, who brightened up immediately, grabbing it in his jaws and mewed his thanks before he scampered into the Nursery.

Padding towards the Elders' den, he was relieved to see them all sunning themselves on the rocks near their den. Meowing a greeting to them, Icepaw padded inside the den, once again setting to work cleaning out the old, tough bits of moss.

Having finished cleaning out the Elders' den and replacing the old moss with new stuff, he called up to the Elders, praying they weren't sleeping, "Nobody has ticks, right?"

"Right, Icepaw," Cinderheart replied, stretching a bit to look down at him from where she lay. "We're all tick-free."

Relieved once again, he padded towards the Apprentices' den, only to spot Blazepaw creeping out of it, and looking around the clearing cautiously, before he walked towards the camp entrance, looking around the camp as if he didn't want to be seen.

Icepaw stared after his friend, inwardly debating on whether or not he should follow Blazepaw. Deciding against it for the time being, he padded into Jayfeather's den to see Emberpelt.

"Back again?" Jayfeather meowed, referring to when Icepaw had come in earlier to get fresh moss for the Elders' den.

"Yep," Icepaw meowed. "But I just wanted to check on Emberpelt."

Jayfeather flicked his tail to where the ginger and white warrior was lying, looking pensive.

"Hi, Emberpelt!" Icepaw greeted his father warmly, sitting down near him.

Emberpelt sat up, meowing, "Hi, Icepaw. I thought I recognized your scent when you came in."

Pleased to hear a happier note in his father's voice, he meowed, "It sounds like you're adapting well!"

Emberpelt shrugged, "Jayfeather's been helping by giving me tips for what I should be focusing on more now that I've lost my sight."

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, Icepaw wondered, if we hadn't left WindClan you'd still have your sight and Swiftwind would still be alive...

Emberpelt finally broke the silence, "I don't regret coming here, Icepaw." Icepaw jumped slightly, surprised at Emberpelt's comment that seemed to answer his thoughts. "I couldn't support a clan that didn't follow the Warrior Code…and if I know you as well as I think I do, you couldn't either." His sightless eyes seemed to lock with Icepaw's. "ThunderClan is a strong clan that follows the Warrior Code even through hard times. Never forget that they took us in even though they didn't have too."

"Right," Icepaw meowed, before he said a quick goodbye and left the den.

Later that evening, as Icepaw and Blazepaw groomed each other's pelts, the sun started to sink below the horizon, and the first warrior of Silverpelt already shining in the sky. All of ThunderClan was sharing tongues.

Icepaw asked quietly as he paused in grooming Blazepaw's fur, "Why did you leave the camp by yourself today?"

"Rosepetal told me to go hunting," Blazepaw answered, a bit too quickly.

Icepaw frowned, "But why wasn't she with you?"

Blazepaw yawned suddenly, "I'm beat, I'm going to turn in early." Standing up quickly, he trotted into the Apprentices' den.

With a sigh, Icepaw set his head on his paws, waiting for the other cats to go to sleep, wanting to sleep under the stars that night. His thoughts were all focused on Blazepaw's strange behavior; I know he's hiding something, but what? Maybe I'm overreacting. I was cleaning dens all day so maybe Rosepetal really did tell him to hunt on his own…

Sometime later, having been left to his own thoughts while the other cats slowly retreated into their dens, a chill hanging in the night air, Icepaw curled up in the middle of the clearing, putting his tail over his nose.

Icepaw was awakened twice that night, once when Ashfall settled down beside him, and a second time when Blazepaw crept out of the Apprentices' den and padded across the clearing cautiously. Icepaw watched him through a semi-closed eye, He's definitely hiding something! Ashfall twitched in his sleep, and Icepaw closed his eye completely, I'll follow him another night…


	13. Chapter 12

_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_.

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

Relaxing as he left the camp, Blazepaw picked up his pace, running through the forest towards the ShadowClan border, only slowing every now and then to scent the air for any cats from his clan that might be trying their paws at some night-time hunting.

As he neared the old thunderpath, he slowed down, scenting the air once more, but this time it wasn't for scents of his clanmates, but of a she-cat with kits.

He scented the milk scent of one of them a second before he heard a furious yowl. Dodging to the side, he managed to avoid getting flattened by a light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes. The she-cat relaxed slightly as she recognized him from the night before, and earlier that day, "So you did come back, Blazepaw." She gazed at him suspiciously, "Well, I suppose I did promise you that you could meet my companion that you scented the night before…" Looking very reluctant, she flicked her tail for Blazepaw to follow her.

"You never told me your name," Blazepaw meowed as he followed the light brown tabby she-cat.

Her fierce amber gaze caused him to flinch, but he relaxed as he noticed her whiskers twitching with amusement, "My name is Tawny."

"You're a loner, right?" Blazepaw questioned, remembering the she-cat mentioning that earlier in the day.

Tawny nodded, "It's not easy being a loner with all you clan cats about, especially when I have kits to care for!"

This was where the mystery began for Blazepaw, since he couldn't see this she-cat leaving her kits for long periods of time, yet she'd spoken to him a good part of the previous night and part of that day, either she's a very bad mother, or there's another she-cat…but then why doesn't she mention that this other she-cat has kits?

Pushing her way into the bushes, Blazepaw followed her inside, surprised at how roomy it was. The outer branches of the bush made it seem like it'd be impossible to get under it, but inside, it had enough room for Tawny and Blazepaw to stand in comfortably.

A worried mew came from a calico she-cat, "Who is this? Why is he here?" The calico she-cat wrapped her tail around two kits protectively.

The kits were more inquisitive, trying to squirm away from the calico she-cat. "Wow! Another cat! Will he be staying here too?" A dark brown tabby she-kit with a white mark on her chest, asked,

"Mouse-brain!" the other she-kit growled. Her light brown tabby coat matching her mother's, although she had a white muzzle and front paws, "Why would he stay here? We have Tawny and Sweetie to take care of us!"

Tawny sighed, "These are my kits, Honey." With a flick of her tail she gestured to the light brown tabby she-kit. "And Lark," she flicked her tail towards the dark brown tabby she-kit.

"And they're yours?" Blazepaw tried to clarify; the she-cat's off-paw tone towards the kits was confusing him.

Tawny gaze met his, "Yes, and I'll do anything to protect them."

"Your secret is safe with me," Blazepaw meowed.

"That's all fine!" The calico she-cat, Sweetie, snapped. "But you haven't introduced yourself!"

Blazepaw meowed quickly, "I'm Blazepaw, an apprentice of ThunderClan."

Sweetie seemed to shrink against the edge of the bush, "You're one of those clan cats?"

Rolling her eyes, Tawny growled, "I told you not to believe those tales those other kittypets told you about the clans!"

"You're a kittypet?" Blazepaw couldn't keep himself from asking, tilting his head questioningly to the side.

Sweetie seemed to calm down a bit as she met his gaze, "I was…that is until my housefolk took away my kits when they were still suckling…I don't know what happened to them…" Her eyes blazed suddenly, "So I ran away and I met Tawny, who was having trouble caring for her kits and going to hunt to keep her milk coming."

"Now I hunt for both of us," Tawny stated. "Sweetie feeds my kits with her milk while I hunt and protect this bush from intruders."

As if to emphasize her point, Blazepaw's shoulder gave a twinge of pain, Tawny having landed on it the night before. "Why don't you try joining one of the clans?"

Tawny answered, "Because I can take care of all of them on my own!"

Like you took care of your kits? Blazepaw silently thought, though he didn't voice his opinion.

Lark managed to squirm away from Sweetie, and she bounded up to Blazepaw fearlessly, "What's ThunderClan? What's an apprentice?"

"Well, ThunderClan is a group of cats that look after one another, protecting each other and our territory from the other clans," Blazepaw stated. "We have a leader who has nine lives given to him by StarClan, our warrior ancestors." Tawny snorted in disbelief as she lay down, but she didn't comment as Blazepaw continued, "Then there's the deputy who organizes patrols and will take over from the leader if he should ever die. We also have a Medicine Cat, who takes care of cats with injuries and illness. Then there are warriors, cats who hunt and fight for the clan along with the leader and deputy. All of them mentor apprentices, like me, who are striving to be warriors like them! We have queens, or pregnant or nursing she-cats, and of course kits, who stay in the Nursery with their mothers, and then we also have elders, cats who have served the clan well and are treated with respect, resting peacefully in the camp, though they will fight when our camp's threatened."

Both kits eyes were round with wonder. "Now I want to be a clan cat!" Honey exclaimed.

"It's time you left," Tawny growled suddenly, standing up, her amber eyes blazing once more.

The kits whined in protest, but Blazepaw nodded, "You're right, I need to head back to the camp."

"You'll come back though, right?" Lark asked, her eyes pleading.

Glancing at Tawny, who gave a reluctant nod, Blazepaw meowed, "I'll try my best to come tomorrow night!"

"Yay!" Both she-kits cheered.

Purring in amusement, Blazepaw backed out of the bush and bounded back towards camp, his mind on the four cats, they shouldn't have to live like that, hiding in the day and only being able to hunt or talk loudly at night…

He slowed as he neared the camp entrance, sniffing the air for any traces of his clanmates near the entrance. Finding all the scents to be old, he walked into camp, seeing Icepaw and Ashfall lying in the middle of the clearing, he padded over to them, settling down beside Icepaw, closing his eyes to try and get some sleep.

Movement against his side made him stir, the sun just rising above the horizon. It felt like he'd only just settled down to sleep.

Icepaw was sitting up next to him, and he wasn't prepared when his friend whispered, "What were you up to last night?"

"Wha-what?" Blazepaw asked in alarm, his mind now racing, hoping he'd misheard his friend.

Glancing at the still-asleep Ashfall, Icepaw repeated, "What were you up to last night?"

"Nothing!" Blazepaw hissed, not wanting to let any other cat, not even his friends, to know about Tawny, Sweetie, Honey, and Lark. "I just need to stretch my legs."

Icepaw stared at him in disbelief, "For the second night in a row?"

"It was only last night, I was ill the night before!" Blazepaw snapped, sticking to the story that he'd eaten a bad mouse the night before.

Icepaw's pupils narrowed to slits, his gaze showing he was still suspicious even though he didn't say anything, merely stalking across the clearing towards Jayfeather's den, his lashing tail waking Ashfall.

Blinking groggily, Ashfall asked as he yawned, "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Blazepaw grumbled as he stood up.

Ashfall stood up as well, stretching, his gaze landing on Icepaw as their friend's white and ginger pelt disappeared into the confines of the Medicine Cat's den, "Icepaw sure seems agitated this morning."

"Yeah, must have slept on a rock," Blazepaw meowed.

Ashfall frowned, "Did you two argue just now or something?"

"No," Blazepaw meowed, knowing he'd said it too quickly as the word left his mouth.

"Well, I'll stay out of it," Ashfall promised. "Just make sure you two don't get to the point that you're taunting Icepaw as badly as Loudfang."

Ashfall trotted over to the camp entrance where the dawn patrol was gathering, Hawkwing and Moonpelt gazing towards the Medicine Cat's den, which Icepaw tore out of, looking a bit happier.

Jayfeather must have told him he can go back to doing his regular duties, Blazepaw thought. Probably so long as Icepaw promised not to overdo it.

He felt bad for lying to his friend and for angering him as well, but he couldn't tell anyone about the four cats. Not yet at least.

Blazepaw turned when he heard his mentor call his name, Rosepetal's dark cream fur fluffed out against the chill of leaf-fall. "Well, are you ready for some battle training?" His mentor asked, looking eager. All her doubts about him wanting to be a warrior gone, replaced by her usual enthusiasm.

"You bet!" Blazepaw meowed, trying to keep his tone free of the exhaustion that was dragging at his limbs.

It worked, since Rosepetal purred, "All right than, let's go!" Taking off at her usual fast pace, Blazepaw found it hard to keep up with his mentor for the first time in moons as he followed her through the forest to a grassy spot to train.

Rosepetal frowned when she noticed how much Blazepaw was panting, "Are you sure you're up to training? Maybe we shouldn't train today…" She sounded a bit crestfallen.

"No! I'm fine!" he said quickly, forcing his breathing to be regular once more. "I tripped at one point while following you, so I had to sprint to catch up again!"

Not looking convinced, but not questioning Blazepaw either, Rosepetal started the lesson, "I want you to attack me as if I were an enemy warrior."

"Just like that?" Blazepaw questioned. Rosepetal nodded, and crouched down, waiting for him to make a move. Crouching down as well, Blazepaw started to circle his mentor, though she left him no openings to strike at. Stalking right up to her face, he swatted at her, testing her. Rosepetal hissed at him, striking back, and Blazepaw leapt away, before he moved to left, trying to get at her left side. Before he knew it, he was on his side, winded by his mentor's blow.

Rosepetal meowed calmly, "You're not thinking things through. You need to be prepared for a counterattack even as you're attacking. Particularly when you're attacking a cat head on like you did just now. Now try again!"

Staggering to his paws, Blazepaw prepared himself once more to take on his mentor…

Two days later, after yet another battle practice with Rosepetal, Blazepaw's skills improving fast according to Rosepetal's praises, he was extremely exhausted, having visited Tawny, Sweetie, Bramble and Lark both nights while still trying to do his regular clan duties.

He called his previous night's visit with a pang of worry for the four cats.

Blazepaw had managed to dodge Tawny's attack once again, used to this greeting by the she-cat. Recognizing Blazepaw, Tawny meowed, "So you've come again? Doesn't your clan wonder where you go?"

"Yes, but I sneak out of camp to come here," Blazepaw answered, trying not to flinch at the memory of Icepaw's hostile gaze and the way his friend's gaze would follow him whenever he left the camp, though Icepaw had yet to catch him leaving the camp at night, only returning.

The fierce she-cat's gaze softened, having seen something in Blazepaw's eyes, "So you help us at your own expense?"

"Well…I mean, I would be punished if it were found out that I came to see you and helped you hunt on our territory instead of driving you off of it, but so long as I'm careful I don't have to worry," Blazepaw tried to reassure her. "My clan would never hurt me."

Tawny stared at him, her amber gaze unreadable. She'd softened a bit towards him since he'd been helping her hunt for not only herself and Sweetie, but for Bramble and Lark as well, who now liked eating prey. She finally sighed, "Bramble and Lark must be driving Sweetie crazy by now, waiting for you." Turning to head towards the bush, Blazepaw followed her with a purr of amusement.

Sweetie greeted them both when he entered the bush with Tawny, while Lark and Bramble leapt at Blazepaw, pretending to attack him. Struggling for a bit, he flopped onto his side dramatically, purring as the kits let out yowls of triumph.

Tawny snapped at them, taking Lark, Bramble, and Blazepaw by surprise, "Be quiet!"

Lark and Bramble obeyed their mother, while Blazepaw sat up, perplexed. Tawny had never snapped at her kits before, not since Blazepaw had been coming, "Is something wrong, Tawny?"

Even Sweetie looked perplexed, "Surely there's no harm in them being loud now?"

Tail lashing, Tawny turned to Blazepaw, "I need to speak with you outside, Blazepaw."

Sweetie frowned as the two cats exited the bush, but she didn't question Tawny, though her gaze was obviously troubled.

Padding several tail-lengths away from the bush, Tawny sat down, and Blazepaw did likewise, wondering what could possibly be worrying her to the extent that she wouldn't allow her kits to talk loudly anymore.

"There has been a cat around the bush, coming late at night," Tawny meowed, her gaze filled with worry. "I have never seen him, but I can scent him…he's from your clan, Blazepaw."

Eyes wide with shock, Blazepaw meowed, "Has he been here recently?"

"Not yet," Tawny meowed. "But he seems to come well after you've left." Her gaze was filled with suspicion now, "You say that you come here at your own expense, but how can I know that you don't have your clanmates prowling around, just waiting for us to be there outside the bush?"

"You have my word that I haven't told anyone," Blazepaw meowed. "I wouldn't do anything to endanger all of you."

Tawny nodded, apparently believing him, before she meowed, sounding nervous, "I trust you, Blazepaw, but this cat still worries me…"

Padding into the Apprentices' den, his mind still on the ThunderClan cat who had been near the bush with the four cats, he was surprised when he spotted Icepaw inside, though it was obvious his friend wasn't asleep.

Lifting his head, Icepaw meowed, "You look exhausted…" He narrowed his eyes, "I hope you don't need to stretch your legs later on tonight."

Blazepaw drew back his lips in a snarl, "So what if I do? What I do is my business!"

"What you do affects the whole clan!" Icepaw snapped, rising to his paws. "What are you doing that's so important?"

Anger and exhaustion clouded Blazepaw's judgment, and he snarled, "My business is my own! Besides, why are you so worried about ThunderClan? You weren't even born here!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he'd gone too far.

With a yowl, Icepaw threw himself at Blazepaw, and Blazepaw found himself overwhelmed by Icepaw's larger size, and he hit the ground, yowling in pain as Icepaw batted his shoulders with unsheathed claws. Managing to get his hind legs near Icepaw's belly, he flung the white and ginger apprentice out of the den.

Springing to his paws, he darted out of the den, leaping at Icepaw, but he was taken off guard as the larger cat rolled swiftly out of Blazepaw's path.

Landing on the ground, Blazepaw started to whip around, but Icepaw was too fast, slamming into his side. Desperately reaching out with his forepaws, he got them around Icepaw's neck, taking the other apprentice with him as he crashed to the ground, both of them rolling.

Blazepaw managed to make sure he ended up on top of Icepaw, and he battered Icepaw's white stomach with his hind paws, and he bit Icepaw's ear.

Yowling in pain and fury, Icepaw squirmed underneath Blazepaw, and Blazepaw realized, too late, that Icepaw was using the same trick Blazepaw had used on him moments before. Flying across the clearing, he landed heavily on his side, the wind knocked out of him. Before he'd recovered, Icepaw was on top of him, pinning him to the ground as he bit his ear.

Yowling once more, he managed to get to his paws, Icepaw's grip on him not as strong as earlier. Rearing onto his hind legs, Icepaw met him head on, the two exchanging blows.

Without any warning, Blazepaw was bowled over, and he found himself pinned to the ground once more, but it was Ashfall who pinned him, claws sheathed, "What are you doing?" The gray warrior demanded in a hiss of dismay.

Before he could snap a retort, a yowl of pain reached his ears, and he turned his head to see Loudfang apparently finishing what he'd started, the tiger-striped warrior having pinned Icepaw to the ground was now biting and clawing him without mercy.

His rage fading immediately, he was about to yowl for help when a dark brown shape slammed into Loudfang, sending the warrior sprawling on the ground.

Hawkwing hissed at Loudfang as the younger warrior got to his paws, but before another fight could break out, Foxstar's yowl rang throughout the clearing, "Enough!"

Leaping down from Highledge, Foxstar glared around, "What is going on?"

Loudfang answered first, though he continued to glare at Hawkwing, "I came back from hunting with Ashfall to find Icepaw attacking Blazepaw!"

"They were attacking each other!" Ashfall snarled, letting Blazepaw up as he stalked menacingly towards Loudfang, his lips drawn back in a snarl, and his fur bristling with rage.

"Stop!" Foxstar snarled, stepping between the two young warriors. He turned to gaze at Hawkwing, "Hawkwing?"

"I only saw Loudfang trying to rip Icepaw to shreds," the older warrior growled, his blue eyes furious slits.

Foxstar's gaze first rested on Icepaw before it rested on Blazepaw, "I want to see both of you in my den. Now." Without waiting to see if they'd obey, he stalked back towards his den.

Blazepaw followed, his stomach, shoulders, and ear searing with pain as he walked. Glancing back at Icepaw, the white and ginger apprentice didn't look any better. If anything, he looked worse, his ear bleeding, along with his stomach and shoulders, and the half-healed wound on his side was red, he felt a pang of worry for his friend, but then it was replaced with irritation, This wouldn't have happened if he'd kept his nose in his own business instead of in mine!

He sat down once he'd entered the den, and Icepaw sat down as well, keeping some distance between them though.

Foxstar demanded, "What happened?"

Before Blazepaw could answer, Icepaw meowed, "We just got into a spat…it won't happen again, Foxstar."

Blazepaw blinked in surprise. He thought for sure that Icepaw would have voiced his worries to Foxstar about him.

"Spat or not," Foxstar meowed. "I will not tolerate fighting between clanmates…" His gaze rested on Icepaw, who was looking at the ground, and Blazepaw felt a stab of fear for his friend when he saw the suspicion in his father's eyes. "After your spat, you two will be confined to the camp until tomorrow evening, and you will clean out all the dens and check the elders' pelts for ticks." He dismissed them with a flick of his tail, and Blazepaw stood up, letting Icepaw lead the way out.

Blazepaw mewed quietly as they reached the ground, "I'm sorry…I…!"

"If you were sorry you wouldn't keep doing what you've been doing!" Icepaw hissed, whirling around to face him. "I just hope Foxstar's punishment will actually keep you in camp tonight!"

Blazepaw flattened his ears angrily, but Icepaw didn't say anymore, merely stalking towards Jayfeather's den. Icepaw's words rang and his head, and he felt a feeling of dread, how am I going to see Tawny, Sweetie, Lark, and Bramble tonight?


	14. Chapter 13

_**Thank you to Greywhisper8598 for pointing out that I unwittingly changed Honey's name to Bramble in the last chapter. Tawny's kits are indeed named Honey & Lark, not Bramble & Lark! I shall try to be more diligent in my editting! Thank you to all who have been reading & I apologize for my sporadic updates-college likes to keep me busy!**_

_**I **__**do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series**_.

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

Icepaw remained awake that night, even though his body cried out for sleep, he wanted to see if Blazepaw would actually remain in camp that night, though he didn't think he would.

A pang of regret shot through him as he thought of their fight. He hadn't meant to attack Blazepaw, he'd merely wanted to confront his friend about his nightly escapades, but when Blazepaw had challenged his loyalty, he'd lost all self-control.

He could still see Blazepaw's ginger pelt as his flanks rose and fell. His eyes started to droop close, Icepaw fighting the urge to sleep, but his tired body soon won out…

Icepaw found himself in an unfamiliar camp, though it smelled of ThunderClan. The camp was deserted; not a cat in sight. When he finally spotted a white pelt he had to stifle a purr as he recognized Whitestorm from his dream as a kit.

Wondering what the warrior wanted, he was surprised when Whitestorm meowed, without any greeting, "Wake up, Icepaw. You need to know what your friend has been up to. Wake up!"

Startled by this, he sat up in surprise just in time to see Blazepaw's tail tip as he left the den. Whitestorm's words rang in his mind, and he silently prayed, please just let him be using the dirtplace! Cautiously exiting the den, Icepaw spotted Blazepaw padding towards the entrance of the camp, the ginger apprentice looking around as if he didn't want to be seen or followed.

Blazepaw…Icepaw thought worriedly, padding quickly after his friend, and darting out of the entrance as he heard the paw steps of whoever was on guard duty. Diving under a nearby bush, he watched as Loudfang sat down at the entrance to camp once more.

Mouse-brain…Icepaw thought as he crept quietly out from under the bush out of Loudfang's sight. Moving cautiously away from the entrance to the camp, he didn't stop till he was certain that Loudfang wouldn't be able to hear him.

Frustrated at the delay, he set off towards the old thunderpath, having investigated near there two nights in a row, he was fairly certain that he'd find Blazepaw there along with whomever else was there, sheltering in the bushes.

Taking his time, Icepaw arrived near the old thunderpath, and he slowed, stalking through the undergrowth towards the bush where he could hear voices, and he could easily pick out Blazepaw's from all of them. As he got closer, a she-cat spoke, "I figured they needed some fresh air!" The first voice purred.

"I still don't like it," a second voice growled.

A tiny kit mew sounded then, "Blazepaw will protect us!"

Without waiting any longer, Icepaw leapt around the bush that was blocking his view, and he found Blazepaw sitting with two she-cats, two kits playing.

The kits squeaked in alarm when they spotted him, while one of the she-cats, a calico, darted in front of them, her fur fluffed out in fear, but baring her teeth bravely at him. The second she-cat screeched in fury and threw herself at him, her light brown body crashing into him, taking him off-guard.

The she-cat leapt away from him before he could retaliate, and she lashed her tail, her amber eyes blazing with pure fury.

Icepaw prepared to leap at her when Blazepaw caterwauled, "Stop!" He darted in between them, first staring at the she-cat.

"Why haven't you driven them off our territory?" Icepaw demanded.

Blazepaw stared at him then beseechingly, "Please, hear me out!"

Reluctantly, Icepaw sheathed his claws and sat down, though he kept a wary eye on the light brown she-cat, who was glaring at him from where she now sat. The calico she-cat had relaxed a bit, though her fur was still fluffed out. "Well?" He demanded, "If Foxstar or Moonpelt finds out about this you'll be crowfood!"

"I couldn't drive them off," Blazepaw meowed, scoffing the ground with his paw. "They're not doing any harm…"

Icepaw growled, "Except eating the prey that ThunderClan desperately needs!"

The light brown she-cat spat, "We need to eat as well!"

"But not on ThunderClan territory!" Icepaw spat right back, hackles rising again.

Blazepaw glanced between the two cats, before meowing, "Stay here, Tawny, I need to talk with Icepaw for a minute, alone."

The light brown she-cat, Tawny, nodded, though her amber eyes were slits as she watched them retreat several fox-lengths.

"Well?" Icepaw meowed once they were seated again.

Blazepaw meowed, "Those kits are about three or four moons old! Do you understand what that means?"

Understanding flooded through Icepaw, "They could be apprentices if they joined the clan!"

"Exactly!" Blazepaw meowed, looking happier. "I've been slowly trying to convince Tawny since her kits seem to like the idea along with Sweetie, the other she-cat, but Tawny still refuses to at least come and see the clan!"

Relieved that his doubts about Blazepaw had been wrong and that they seemed to be on the same side once more, he meowed, "What have you tried telling her?"

"How safe her kits will be and how well cared for mainly," Blazepaw meowed.

Icepaw frowned, "Nothing about what she can give though?"

Now Blazepaw was frowning, "No…I didn't think about that…"

"Let me try to talk to her then," Icepaw meowed, not waiting for Blazepaw to answer as he padded back towards the formidable she-cat.

"Wait!" Blazepaw hissed, but it was too late.

Icepaw sat down, dipping his head to the older she-cat, "I'm sorry about earlier, I'm Icepaw of ThunderClan, formerly of WindClan."

Tawny was obviously taken off-guard by this statement, "You were not born in ThunderClan?"

"No," Icepaw meowed. "I disobeyed my clan leader, who wanted me to hurt Blazepaw when he trespassed on our territory, when I didn't; he banished me, along with my father. ThunderClan took us in, knowing we'd be valuable assets to their clan."

The calico she-cat, Sweetie, meowed, "So then you're loyal to ThunderClan now?"

"Yes," Icepaw meowed. "And I'd give my life for the clan and all the cats in it."

"See?" Sweetie demanded of Tawny. "Here is another example of how loyal they are! We should take Lark and Honey there!"

"I can take care of all of us!" Tawny spat, bristling.

Icepaw meowed, "The clan could use a fierce she-cat like you."

Tawny whipped around, baring her teeth at him, "Use me? No cat uses me!"

"You misunderstand me," Icepaw stated, backpedaling quickly. "You see, ThunderClan needs more warriors, and you would make a great one with your fighting ability and fierceness." He turned to Sweetie, "You'd be a warrior as well!"

"But-but I can't hunt or fight…" Sweetie murmured, "I just thought if we joined your clan I'd be a queen, constantly caring for kits…"

Blazepaw, having remained silent for a while, now meowed, "You can be taught to hunt and fight to protect kits and clanmates."

Sweetie's eyes brightened, before they were blazing, "I want to join this clan, Tawny, if it means I can protect kits better I'm all for it!"

The fierceness with which the calico she-cat spoke surprised Icepaw, but he didn't say anything as a light brown she-kit with a white muzzle and front paws meowed, "Please Tawny! I want to be a warrior!"

"Me too!" The other she-kit, a dark brown tabby meowed.

Blazepaw waited a few seconds before prompting, "Tawny? Will you and your kits join ThunderClan?"

Tawny remained silent, looking from her kits to Sweetie, and back again, before she turned to look at Blazepaw and Icepaw, "You say my kits will be well cared for and that your clan needs my skills?" Blazepaw and Icepaw nodded. "All right then…we'll come with you back to your clan."

"Yay!" The two kits yowled, bouncing around happily.

Tawny stared at the two apprentices, "Lead the way."

Nodding, Icepaw and Blazepaw walked side by side while Tawny, Sweetie, and the two kits followed.

"Thanks, Icepaw," Blazepaw meowed, brushing against Icepaw's pelt. "I'm sorry about earlier…I just didn't want any other cat to find out, but I'm glad of your help."

Icepaw purred, brushing against Blazepaw's fur, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have lost it like that." He glanced back at the four cats, "We now have more warriors for ThunderClan."

"If Foxstar accepts," Blazepaw muttered nervously.

Icepaw shared his friend's worry, recalling how Foxstar had stared at him as he'd left the leader's den that day. He still tried to reassure his friend, "I'm sure he'll take them in. ThunderClan NEEDS more warriors!"

Luck was with them as they finally reached the camp entrance at sunrise, Rosepetal standing guard at the entrance to the camp instead of Loudfang.

Thank StarClan! Icepaw thought, remembering how the tiger-striped warrior had tried to rip him to shreds the other day.

Rosepetal stood up and snarled when she spotted the four new cats, but Blazepaw quickly meowed, "They want to join the clan!"

"Do they now?" Rosepetal meowed, looking over the four cats. "And how long have these trespassers been on our territory?"

Blazepaw scoffed the ground with his white paw, "Awhile now…"

Rosepetal scolded her apprentice, "The Warrior Code tells us to drive off intruders!"

At this Tawny bristled, while Sweetie wrapped her tail protectively around the two kits.

Sighing, Rosepetal flicked her tail over Blazepaw's ears, "Your heart is in the right place though…" Flicking her tail for them to follow, she led the way towards Foxstar's den. "Wait here," Rosepetal mewed as they reached the base of path that led up to the ThunderClan leader's den. They all sat down, waiting for Rosepetal to come back.

Having smelled the new cats, the clan was coming out of their dens, even grouchy Jayfeather padded out to get a better idea of what he was smelling.

Tawny looked extremely uncomfortable, her ears flat against her head, though she didn't smell of fear, unlike Sweetie, who cowered against the other she-cat. The two kits gazed around with eyes filled with wonder at the sight of the camp and all the new cats.

Icecloud padded out of the Nursery, her four kits bouncing around her. Icepaw purred when he heart Thunderkit ask, "Icecloud? Can we go play with those other kits?"

Looking their way, Icecloud meowed, "You may say hello, but you can't play with them yet."

"Yay!" Thunderkit meowed, bounding over; his sisters beating him over to Tawny's two kits.

"Hi!" one of the white she-kits meowed, "I'm Snowkit!"

"I'm Silverkit!"

"I'm Frostkit!"

"And I'm Thunderkit!" the gray and white tom declared, managing to shove past his sisters.

The light brown tabby with the white muzzle and forepaws meowed, "I'm Honey."

"And I'm Lark," the other she-kit meowed.

Icepaw couldn't help noticing that both of the two kits were much larger than Icecloud's kits, Blazepaw's right, they've got to be about four moons old…in two moons they can start their training!

"Those are weird names!" Snowkit mewed, staring at the two she-kits.

Before they could respond, Rosepetal returned, meowing, "Foxstar would like to see you all in his den."

They all stood up, and Blazepaw led the four cats up to Foxstar's den, Icepaw flanking them. When they entered, Icepaw was surprised to see Moonpelt in the den as well, sitting beside Foxstar, his eyes widening in surprise as he took in the four cats.

Foxstar meowed, "So, we've had loners on our territory for some time now, Blazepaw, and you convinced them to join our clan?"

"Icepaw helped too," Blazepaw meowed. "But he didn't know about them till last night!"

Icepaw flinched, wishing Blazepaw had left that little detail out.

Foxstar's eyes narrowed, "So you left the camp even though I'd ordered you not too?"

"Yes, Foxstar," both of them meowed, lowering their heads.

Moonpelt commented, "Even though they disobeyed your orders, I believe both their hearts were in the right place, Blazepaw wanting to convince these cats to join the clan and Icepaw wanting to know what Blazepaw was up to."

"Is that why you quarreled the other day?" Foxstar questioned.

"Yes, Foxstar," they both answered again.

Foxstar looked thoughtful before he turned to the four cats, "You want to join ThunderClan?"

"Yes," Tawny and Sweetie meowed. The kits were staring at Foxstar and Moonpelt with wide eyes. Icepaw assumed they'd never seen such large, fierce looking cats in their lives.

Foxstar looked thoughtful, but he didn't say anything. Moonpelt murmured, "We need more cats, and those kits will be apprentices sooner my own kits."

This seemed to decide it, as Foxstar nodded, "I will allow you to join ThunderClan."

Sweetie looked relieved, as did Tawny, while the kits yowled triumphantly, "Yay! We're going to be warriors!"

Moonpelt's whiskers twitched in amusement, while Foxstar merely watched all their reactions with an unreadable look in his eyes. "I will formerly tell the clan about you all at sunhigh, until then, Blazepaw and Icepaw can show you around the camp." His whiskers twitched with amusement as he added, "And then they can clean out all the dens in camp."

Dipping their heads respectively to Foxstar, Blazepaw and Icepaw trotted out of the den, the four new cats following along with Moonpelt. Once they were in the main clearing, Moonpelt meowed to the four cats, "I'm Moonpelt, the deputy of this clan."

Tawny nodded, while Sweetie gazed at the gray warrior in awe along with the two kits.

Moonpelt turned to Icepaw and Blazepaw, "Make sure you give them a good tour so they know where everything is and how our clan works."

"We will!" They both meowed, before setting off, showing the four cats all the dens, along with introducing them to as many cats as possible before sunhigh. As they met more and more cats, Icepaw noticed that Tawny and Sweetie kept exchanging uncertain glances, and he hoped the two she-cats weren't having any second thoughts, they'd already grown on him, and he truly believed that they would be great additions to ThunderClan.

When sunhigh finally came, Tawny, Sweetie, and the two kits had managed to meet all the cats in the clan. Most of the clan cats seemed okay with the latest additions to their clan, including Loudfang, though Dawnstep was wary of them, but Icepaw had found it hard not to yowl triumphantly when the she-cat had greeted him warmly when he'd introduced her to the new cats.

Foxstar caterwauled to get the clan's attention, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Highledge for a clan meeting!"

All the cats in the camp gathered below Highledge, "Cats of ThunderClan, as you know there are four new cats in our camp who I have formerly accepted into the clan. Until they gain knowledge of our ways and the Warrior Code, I will not give them clan names. However, they are to be treated like any other member of the clan." Foxstar walked into his den, ending the meeting.

"You can't get better than that at the moment," Blazepaw explained to the crestfallen kits. "You all need to learn about the Warrior Code and clan life."

A quarter-moon later, Icepaw was on a border patrol with Hawkwing, Bumblestripe, and Tawny, the four cats having settled well into the clan, the two she-cats splitting their time between Lark and Honwy and a warrior's life. As far as Icepaw was concerned, Tawny was a natural warrior, picking up quickly on battle techniques and the Warrior Code. Sweetie was a bit slower, the former kittypet struggling with some aspects of clan life, but showing determination in understanding all that was necessary to become a warrior.

The patrol slowed as they reached the Thunderpath, scenting the air for any signs of ShadowClan intruders while renewing the border markings.

As they reached the curve of the Thunderpath, Tawny meowed, "The marker has been moved!"

Icepaw, Hawkwing, and Bumblestripe all scented the air and blinked in surprise as they noticed the change as well. ShadowClan had moved the marker to the other side of the curve, deeper into their territory.

"About time you came along," a mottled brown and ginger tom growled as he stalked out of the undergrowth. "We've been waiting since dawn to catch a ThunderClan patrol." More cats stalked out of the undergrowth at this, easily outnumbering their patrol.

"Doesn't ShadowClan have enough territory, Redbird?" Hawkwing demanded, his fur bristling, ears flat against his head.

Redbird snorted, "Our clan is growing larger everyday while yours grows smaller, so our leader felt it was time to add to our territory!"

"You'll have to take it from us then," Bumblestripe spat, his teeth barred.

"With pleasure, a dark brown tabby snarled, leaping at the tiger-striped tom.

Hawkwing yowled as Redbird slammed into him, "Icepaw! Go back to camp and get help!"

Icepaw nodded and turned to flee, when he felt claws on his haunches. Yowling in pain, he turned to face his attacker, when the weight left his haunches suddenly. Tawny had a tortoiseshell she-cat pinned to the ground, and she snarled, "Go, Icepaw!"

Icepaw took off through the forest, heading towards camp, the screeches and yowls of the fight fading as he tore back to camp. The journey seeming to take forever and driving Icepaw to run faster when he thought of the drastically outnumbered patrol, he half-slid, half-ran into camp, caterwauling, "ShadowClan is trying to expand their territory! We need help!"

Moonpelt shot out of the Nursery, and Loudfang, Ashfall, and Dawnstep came out of the Warriors' Den. Foxstar called out as he raced down from Highledge, "Go help the patrol, I'll find Rosepetal, Sweetie, and Blazepaw and we'll come help too!"

Moonpelt turned to Icepaw, "Lead the way!"

Nodding, Icepaw tore out of camp, the others following after him, their longer legs enabling them to keep up with his faster run. Please be okay! Icepaw thought as he led the patrol nearer and nearer to where the patrol had been battling. The screeches and yowls of pain and fury reached their ears first, and then the battling cats came into sight, Hawkwing taking on three warriors, fighting like all of LionClan, Bumblestripe fighting with two cats that had him cornered and unable to dodge their attacks, while Tawny was also fighting with three warriors, fighting with the ferocity of TigerClan.

Yowling a battle cry, Moonpelt took the lead, charging into the fray, and leaping at one of Bumblestripe's attackers, while Loudfang threw himself at the other. Screeching furiously, Dawnstep launched herself at a black tom with two white paws that was attacking Hawkwing, Ashfall flinging himself at another of Hawkwing's attackers.

Icepaw made a beeline for a white tom with small black spots that was attacking Tawny. As he landed on the ShadowClan warrior's back, the tom whipped around in fury. The warrior managed to throw him off, and Icepaw landed on his paws, spitting in the warrior's face. The white tom lunged at Icepaw, who leapt to the side, striking out with a forepaw, clawing the warrior's side. Screeching in pain and rage, the warrior turned around and struck at Icepaw with a forepaw. Icepaw pulled back but he hissed as the ShadowClan warrior's claws raked across his ear. Leaping forward, Icepaw slammed into the warrior's side, knocking the white tom to the ground, having taken him off guard. With a snarl, Icepaw pinned the warrior, kicking him with his hind paws and biting his shoulder. When the warrior yowled in pain, Icepaw got off him, the warrior dashing off back into ShadowClan territory.

He turned to help Tawny once more only to see the she-cat giving a nip to a ShadowClan warrior's haunches as the warrior fled.

Tawny slid to a halt at the original border, tail raised high in the air, even though she was bleeding from her ear and shoulder, she looked ready to take on more ShadowClan warriors.

A yowl rose above the remaining sounds of battle, "Retreat!"

The ShadowClan warriors ran back to their territory, Redbird pausing to hiss at the ThunderClan cats, "This isn't over!"

"Just remember that this territory still belongs to us!" Moonpelt snarled.

Eyes glittering with malice, Redbird followed after his clanmates deeper into ShadowClan's territory.

"Well done," Moonpelt meowed to all the ThunderClan cats once he was sure ShadowClan was truly gone. "We need to head back to camp now." With that, the gray warrior started to lead the way back to camp, bearing only a few minor scratches from the battle.

Icepaw noticed that Hawkwing, Bumblestripe, and Tawny bore the worst injuries, but that made sense, since the three warriors had fought off the ShadowClan warriors up until the rest of them had arrived.

Crashing in the undergrowth made Moonpelt halt, his hackles rising, but he relaxed as he recognized Foxstar's scent a minute before his leader appeared, followed by Blazepaw, Rosepetal, and Sweetie, "Did you drive them off?"

Moonpelt nodded, "Yes, they won't be trying that again in a hurry."

Foxstar nodded, taking in those that had fought, "I'm very proud of all of you." His gaze rested on Tawny, but he said nothing, merely beckoning for the cats to follow him back to camp.

As Foxstar bounded into camp, he leapt up onto Highledge, "Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Highledge for a clan meeting."

Icepaw sat with the rest of the cats that had just returned the elders, Jayfeather, and Icecloud all coming out of their dens, looking wary, obviously not expecting good news.

"As you know, ShadowClan tried to take more of our territory today," Foxstar meowed, gazing down at his cats with obvious pride. "They were driven off though, knowing that ThunderClan will no longer let them take what they want!" Yowls of approval rose from all of them, Icepaw among them. "And now, I'd like to give a cat their warrior name…" His gaze rested on Tawny, and Icepaw's heart plummeted a bit, but the feeling didn't last long, glad that Tawny was finally being fully accepted into the clan. "Tawny, please step forward."

Tawny obeyed Foxstar, but she meowed, "I would prefer to keep my name as it is, Foxstar."

The ThunderClan leader's eyes narrowed to slits, "You will either take a warrior name, or leave this clan."

Tawny dipped her head, her gaze showing that she didn't want to leave, "I will take a warrior name…"

Foxstar nodded and gazed up at the sky, "I call upon our warrior ancestors to look upon this cat, she has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend her to you as a full warrior of our clan in turn. Tawny…from this moment on you will be known as Tawnyclaw. StarClan honors your fierceness and strength and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He leapt down from Highledge and touched her head, and she respectfully licked his shoulder.

"Tawnyclaw! Tawnyclaw!" The clan yowled Tawny's new name, and the usually fierce she-cat looked embarrassed.

Foxstar signaled for silence and meowed, "I also want to formerly welcome Honeykit and Larkkit into the clan."

Icepaw's whiskers twitched in amusement as he heard yowls of joy from the Nursery.

"I've never been prouder of this clan," Foxstar meowed, gazing around. "I know that we have what it takes to regain the territory that we've lost." His eyes blazed, and Icepaw agreed with his leader. ThunderClan certainly seemed unbeatable at the moment.


	15. Chapter 14

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. Sorry about the long wait! I actually hope to get another chapter posted of this since I finally bought the fifth book in Omen of the Stars, so we'll see about another chapter!**_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

Blazepaw sat with the other cats waiting to go to the gathering, the recently named Tawnyclaw among the ThunderClan cats that were going. He felt bad that neither Icepaw or Sweetie were going, but Moonpelt had said that it was asking for trouble already to have Tawnyclaw going much less Icepaw or even Emberpelt, who had joined the elders in their den now that the scratches had healed, the blind tom was usually guided around by Cinderheart, who was also staying behind that night as well.

The tension among the gathered cats was evident from their lashing tails, to the way they spoke in hushed tones, as if they were afraid to be overheard. Blazepaw knew what was on their minds: how would WindClan and ShadowClan react towards them after their recent defeats by ThunderClan? It was clear now, that they wouldn't be pushovers anymore, but the fear in some of the older cats eyes reminded him of the stories he'd heard about the three clans attacking ThunderClan and nearly wiping them out entirely.

Foxstar exited his den, and padded towards them, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Gazing around at them all, he flicked his tail for them to follow as he led the way out of camp and into the forest towards the lake.

Jumping at nearly every sound, his clanmates wariness getting to him, Blazepaw wished that he could reassure that no harm would come to them, but he couldn't. Only StarClan knew what would happen at the Gathering that night. Until then, they were on their own…

It didn't take long for them to reach the shore of the lake, where they started to head into WindClan territory, every cat flinching or jumping at the slightest, little sound, their tails bushed out in fear, while others had their hackles raised in anticipation of a fight. Padding beside his mentor, Rosepetal, she meowed quietly, "Stay on alert, Blazepaw, but don't be scared. This is a Gathering we're going to after all."

He wasn't reassured as he noticed her fluffed out fur, showing how worried and scared she was, _this isn't the type of attitude we need for a Gathering! One wrong word and they'll be at the other clans' throats!_

Following his mentor across the log, he was a bit wary as he neared the edge, _StarClan don't let me fall in again!_ Leaping to the shore, he raised his tail proudly to find that he had easily made the jump.

"Keeping moving," Hawkwing's deep purr rumbled from behind him.

Purring as well, Blazepaw nodded and headed further onto the island, pushing his way through the pushes until he entered the clearing, the massive tree already being used by two of the leaders: Dawnstar and Thistlestar. As Foxstar joined them, Blazepaw grew worried. Both leaders glared at Foxstar, but the ThunderClan leader didn't flinch, merely sitting on the branch calmly and not looking at either of them.

_At least he's not trying to start a fight,_ Blazepaw thought, a bit relieved. He'd been worried that his father would try to instigate a fight with the two clans.

"Have more faith," Jayfeather meowed as he sat down next to Blazepaw. "Foxstar is our leader. There's nothing to worry about."

_That's a load of foxdung,_ Blazepaw thought, though he didn't voice them aloud. Foxstar had lost faith in StarClan and he'd tried to instigate a fight at the last gathering: intentional or not.

"RiverClan is late," Blazepaw murmured to himself.

Jayfeather's sharp ears heard him, "Yes…it's odd."

"I wonder what's keeping them," Blazepaw added.

Before Jayfeather could comment, Minnowstar and her RiverClan warriors arrived, looking as fit and sleek as ever.

"They seem fine," Jayfeather meowed. "How do they look?"

"Fine," Blazepaw agreed. "Sleek as ever."

Minnowstar leapt up onto a tree branch and immediately gave a caterwaul, wanting the gathering to start.

Ashfall squeezed in on Blazepaw's other side, muttering, "She's in a hurry to get started."

Blazepaw didn't get a chance to reply as Minnowstar spoke, "Cats of all clans! I'm sure you're all wondering why we were late tonight, considering it is our territory that is closest to the island." Murmurings greeted her words. It was true that it was odd for RiverClan to be late. "I assure you that nothing is wrong in our camp. Tonight we merely had an uninvited guest. A fox tried to get into our Nursery, but my warriors drove it out." She turned to Dawnstar, "Unfortunately, it crossed into ShadowClan territory, and I did send two of my warriors to inform your clan."

Dawnstar nodded in acknowledgement of Minnowstar's kindness, "Thank you for sending your own warriors to inform my clan. I'm sure a fox won't give us any trouble."

"RiverClan wants it to be known that our warriors Copperpelt, Stormwing, and Stonetail for their quick action against the fox," Minnowstar finished. All the clans raised their voices in praise of the three warriors. Foxes were an enemy to all clans.

Dawnstar stepped forward next, "ShadowClan is thriving as well, and let it be clear that we're carefully watching our borders." She glared pointedly at Foxstar. The reddish tabby tom didn't even flinch.

When Thistlestar motioned for Foxstar to step forward, Foxstar declined with a shake of his head. Snorting, Thistlestar stepped forward, "WindClan is thriving after driving out two of our own."

Blazepaw immediately felt all the ThunderClan cats around him start to bristle. They knew exactly who Thistlestar was speaking of. The other two clans were murmuring, wondering why WindClan drove out two cats.

"Emberpelt and his son, Icepaw, proved they were against the warrior code," Thistlestar growled. "They disobeyed my direct orders and I can't fathom why any clan leader would take them in!" He turned his gaze on Foxstar, "Well, Foxstar? Are you against the warrior code?"

Foxstar's tail was bushed out, the only sign of his fury, but his voice was calm as he caterwauled, "Cats of all clans! Let it be known that Emberpelt and Icepaw are cats loyal to the warrior code." His gaze turned on Thistlestar, "I question why you turned out such loyal cats when they only wanted the best for their clan."

"They betrayed WindClan!" Thistlestar spat, his white fur starting to bristle along his spine.

Foxstar's voice was cold, "You gave them no choice." He turned to look at the cats below, "Emberpelt and Icepaw were banished from WindClan because they refuse to attack a ThunderClan apprentice who had accidentally crossed the border while hunting. When that apprentice realized what he'd done, he left the squirrel on WindClan territory, but Thistlestar would have had him killed for this simple mistake. Emberpelt and Icepaw would not stand for that. They disobeyed their leader and stood up for the warrior code!"

Blazepaw and Ashfall looked around in surprise as the cats of ShadowClan and RiverClan yowled in approval of what the two cats had done.

Thistlestar snarled, "The warrior code says that cats should obey their leaders!"

A RiverClan cat called out from the gathered cats, "Not when their leaders are obviously wrong!" More yowls of approval rang out.

Foxstar caterwauled for silence before turning back to face the furious Thistlestar, "You were wrong in turning away Emberpelt and Icepaw, and in doing so you lost two warriors." He smirked, "ThunderClan gained two cats who would give their all for their new clan."

Hissing at Foxstar, Thistlestar finished his report, "WindClan is stronger without those two cats and we will challenge any cat that even looks over our border!"

Foxstar stepped forward then, "ThunderClan grows stronger from the addition of Emberpelt and Icepaw to our clan, and though Emberpelt was blinded in an attack from WindClan and is now with the elders, Icepaw has proven himself a worthy apprentice of ThunderClan." Yowls of approval rang out. "We also welcomed a new warrior to our ranks: Ashfall!"

Ashfall lowered his head in embarrassment as ThunderClan cats cheered. Blazepaw added his own voice, and he was surprised to see that RiverClan cats, and several ShadowClan cats as well welcomed him as a warrior. _This is very different from the last gathering…we gained a lot of approval from ShadowClan and RiverClan by taking in Emberpelt and Icepaw._

"ThunderClan also has started to take back some of its old territory," Foxstar stated. "We will take back what rightfully belongs to our clan and nothing more. We are growing stronger, and we will not be treated as outcasts any longer!"

Yowls of approval rose from the ThunderClan cats, but Blazepaw refrained from joining them, seeing the dark looks on the faces of Dawnstar and Thistlestar. Minnowstar seemed unfazed by this announcement, which made sense, since RiverClan had nothing to fear from ThunderClan.

Leaping off of his branch, the Gathering was immediately brought to a close, and Moonpelt called out for ThunderClan to gather around their leader and leave.

Blazepaw stayed near Jayfeather, as did Ashfall, not wanting the blind medicine cat to be left behind in the haste of the clan to leave, knowing that they'd made their intentions very clear to ShadowClan and WindClan.

Reaching the log bridge, Ashfall stayed near the rear with Moonpelt and Hawkwing, warily watching the cats from the other clans as the rest of ThunderClan crossed to the other side. Blazepaw leapt onto the log and followed Jayfeather closely. Once on the other side, he stood by Rosepetal, waiting for the other three cats to cross. Foxstar headed out once he was sure that all his cats were on the other side, and trotted swiftly towards home.

Blazepaw trotted along beside his mentor, but he had misgivings about what had occurred at the Gathering, _we shouldn't have declared that we were getting stronger. What happened to all of our fear about being attacked? _Looking around at the ThunderClan patrol, he didn't see any of that fear now. They were all tense, yes, but there was an eagerness in the way they moved. An eagerness to prove that they were strong, and no longer pushovers that lived in fear. They were ThunderClan cats, and nothing was going to change that. Now that the intentions of the clan was clear, they seemed to feel a relief, and with that relief, a strength in knowing that their leader had faith in them.

_But does Foxstar really have faith?_ Blazepaw wondered. _He lost faith in StarClan…how much faith does he really have in us?_


	16. Chapter 15

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. Not sure when the next update will be, but I hope you enjoy!**_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

Icepaw waited in the middle of the camp for the cats that went to the Gathering to return, wondering what WindClan would say about him and his father, or what ShadowClan would say about the defeat they suffered. Hearing paw steps at the top of the ravine, he watched as the cats returned, all of them looking quite pleased.

Curious as to what had occurred; Icepaw made his way over to Ashfall and Blazepaw, "What happened?"

Blazepaw opened his mouth to answer, but Ashfall was quicker, "Foxstar told off Thistlestar for calling you and Emberpelt traitors, and RiverClan and ShadowClan supported Foxstar's decision!" Icepaw purred, unable to contain his joy at this news. He'd been afraid that he and his father would have had to leave the clan.

"That's not all," Blazepaw meowed. "Foxstar said we're taking back our old territory."

Icepaw's mouth fell open. That was a bold move for the ThunderClan leader to do. "Really?"

Blazepaw nodded, "Yeah. I'm assuming we're taking back our territory that was lost to ShadowClan first."

"Why not WindClan?"

"Because WindClan is still stronger than we are," Ashfall admitted reluctantly. "ShadowClan, though strong, we can take on. We've proven that."

"We proved that we can take on WindClan too," Icepaw countered.

"True," Blazepaw meowed, "But it cost us a high price."

This was a statement Icepaw couldn't argue with, recalling his own injuries, the loss of Emberpelt's sight, and Foxstar losing a life, not to mention Swiftwind's death.

Foxstar's yowl brought their attention to the gathered clan, and they hurried over to get better spots, "Cats of ThunderClan! Tomorrow, I will lead a patrol to our border with ShadowClan, and we will take back the territory we lost so long ago back!"

Yowls of approval rang out from the clan. Icepaw yowled as well, hoping he would be chosen to go with the patrol.

"At dawn, I want a patrol ready to head out." Foxstar's gaze went to Moonpelt, "I'm counting on you to pick out the best cats for this job."

"Of course," Moonpelt meowed, dipping his head to his leader.

"ThunderClan grows stronger!" Foxstar finished, the clan echoing his yowl, some cats even rearing onto their hind legs in their excitement.

As Foxstar leapt down, all the warriors gathered around Moonpelt, and Ashfall, Blazepaw, and Icepaw joined them.

Moonpelt looked them all over, "Hawkwing, Icepaw, Bumblestripe, Sweetie, and Dawnstep will join the patrol tomorrow."

"What about the rest of us?!" Rosepetal's meow rose up indignantly.

Moonpelt met her gaze steadily, "You will guard the camp. I wouldn't put it past WindClan to try and attack us after our little announcement tonight."

Muttering in reluctant agreement, Rosepetal walked over to the Warriors' den to rest. All the others started to follow her as well, knowing how important tomorrow was.

Icepaw waited, wanting to sleep outside the night so that he could feel the comfortingly eyes of his ancestors, when he spotted Sweetie, her head lowered, shoulders hunched, and her eyes were filled with fear.

"Sweetie?" Icepaw mewed quietly. "Are you all right?"

The calico she-cat turned her frightened gaze on him, "I don't think I can go into battle tomorrow! I've never been a fighter."

Hoping Blazepaw had stuck around, Icepaw realized that he and Sweetie were alone, Blazepaw having headed into the Apprentices' Den. Hoping he would say the right things to the gentle-hearted she-cat, Icepaw took a deep breath before he tried to reassure her, "I'm sure you'll do your best tomorrow."

Sweetie closed her eyes, shaking her head back and forth, "I'm a house-cat, not a warrior!"

"You're not a kittypet anymore," Icepaw meowed. "The cat I first met that night was scared, but you bravely faced me, willing to protect Honeykit and Larkkit."

"That was because I was protecting them," Sweetie meowed.

"You'll be protecting them tomorrow by guaranteeing that they'll have more fresh-kill during Leaf-bare and won't starve."

"Really?" Sweetie asked, her eyes showing her desperation.

It's obvious that she doesn't want to let the clan down, Icepaw thought, "Yes. You're not only protecting them, but the rest of ThunderClan and generations to come as well."

Eyes filling with determination, she smiled at Icepaw, "Thank you." Sweetie stood up and started to head to the Warriors' den, "And Icepaw." He gazed at her questioningly. "You already have the great wisdom of a true warrior."

Ears growing hot with embarrassment, Icepaw trotted into the middle of the camp, curling up in a ball to stay warm. A few seconds later, he felt fur press against his own, but he didn't think anything of it at first. Then he realized the fur was longer than that of Blazepaw, Ashfall, or Emberpelt's. Lifting his head, he gazed at his mentor, Hawkwing, who met his gaze, "I figured you shouldn't be left out here alone. Not with the cold of Leaf-fall settling in."

"Thanks," Icepaw mewed.

Hawkwing nodded towards the Warriors' den, "She's right. You showed the wisdom of a warrior tonight by not only addressing her fears, but giving her the strength she needed to take part in the battle tomorrow. Not only the qualities of a great warrior, but the qualities of a great leader."

Icepaw was now thoroughly embarrassed as he curled back up, placing his tail over his nose, "Night."

"Night," he felt Hawkwing's side move with contained laughter. Icepaw managed to fall asleep quickly though.

Dawn came too early for Icepaw's liking as a paw prodded his side. Muttering sleepily, Icepaw dragged himself to his paws. Hawkwing meowed, "Come on, we need to get moving."

Stretching quickly, Icepaw followed his mentor over to the gathered patrol. Foxstar looked over all the cats that Moonpelt had chosen to go. Nodding at his deputy in approval, Foxstar gave the signal for them all to head out, Moonpelt followed Foxstar, staying just behind the ThunderClan leader, Hawkwing, Dawnstep, and Bumblestripe were just behind the deputy, and Icepaw kept his pace even with Sweetie's, the calico finding it still a bit hard to keep up with the pace of the hardened warriors.

It didn't take them long to reach the border, and they crossed it, going up to the pine trees that apparently started their old border with ShadowClan. They all started to mark the new border, though Foxstar meowed to Sweetie, "You stay here and keep an out for any ShadowClan patrol. Sweetie nodded, trembling, and Icepaw knew it wasn't with excitement. Hoping she'd be all right, he marked the new border with the rest of the clan.

Just as they finished, Sweetie's yowl reached their ears, and Icepaw ran towards the she-cat, his belly fur brushing the ground as he sprinted. He spotted Sweetie facing a ShadowClan patrol, her hackles raised and teeth bared. What startled Icepaw was the fact that Sweetie was standing nose to nose with Dawnstar, the ShadowClan leader snarling something to the she-cat.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, Icepaw slid to a stop beside Sweetie, a snarl pushing its way out.

Dawnstar sneered, "A kittypet and an apprentice is all that ThunderClan sent?!"

"Not at all," Foxstar called out as he reached them with Moonpelt and Hawkwing. Bumblestripe and Dawnstep soon joined them.

Dawnstar bared her teeth at Foxstar, "You have no right to this territory!"

"I'm merely taking back what rightfully belongs to my clan," Foxstar stated, though his lashing tail revealed how tense he was. "If you really want to fight over it, then be my guest. Just know my clan will keep coming back and fighting for it. Is it really worth the lives of your warriors, Dawnstar?"

"Yes!" Dawnstar yowled. "Attack them, ShadowClan!" She threw herself at Foxstar.

Icepaw was bowled over by a black and white she-cat, an apprentice like himself. Growling, Icepaw battered her stomach with his hind paws, and the she-cat leapt off of him. Getting to his paws, Icepaw launched himself at her, though the she-cat met him head on, but Icepaw's greater weight won out, and she fell onto her side, and Icepaw bit her shoulder and scratched at her exposed side. Yowling in pain, Icepaw allowed the she-cat up, and she darted back into ShadowClan territory.

Hearing Sweetie's yowl of pain, Icepaw leapt to her aid, leaping on the back of Redbird, and digging in his claws, giving Sweetie a fairer fight as she fought with a tortoiseshell she-cat. Rearing backwards, Redbird started to topple over, intent on squishing Icepaw beneath him, but Icepaw leapt off with a hiss, and Redbird landed on his back, his stomach exposed. Making to pin the ShadowClan deputy, Redbird read his movements and growled, "I don't think so!" He jerked his head, Redbird's jaws closing on his left front leg, before he pulled at it. Screeching in pain as his paw was twisted, Icepaw fell heavily onto his side. The ShadowClan deputy was on top of him in an instant, leering down at him, "You picked the wrong cat to fight with!" He bit down on Icepaw's shoulder, and Icepaw screeched in pain, the deputy's teeth going deep into his shoulder, and he could feel Redbird's claws tearing into his right haunch. Struggling with all his might, the deputy was simply too powerful and heavy for him.

Without any warning, Redbird released a shriek of pain, and Icepaw felt his weight leave him. Icepaw got to his paws with some difficulty, and he stared wide-eyed at Sweetie, as the calico she-cat screeched angrily in Redbird's ears as she clung to his back, "Leave him alone!" Biting down fiercely onto Redbird's left ear, the ShadowClan deputy shrieked once more in pain before he managed to shake off Sweetie, tearing back into ShadowClan territory.

"Are you all right?" Sweetie asked Icepaw, who was still gaping at the she-cat in awe.

Icepaw shook his head, "Yeah! Thanks! You were amazing."

Sweetie's whiskers twitched in amusement. Both of the cats turned as they heard Dawnstar yowl, "ShadowClan! Retreat!"

ShadowClan cats fled past them, and as Dawnstar followed her warriors she spat at Foxstar, "This isn't over!"

"Yes it is," Foxstar answered. "This territory is ThunderClan's now, and we will defend it with our lives!"

Hissing furiously at Foxstar, Dawnstar headed into her territory. Yowls of triumph from the ThunderClan warriors following her retreating figure.

Foxstar turned to face his warriors, "Well done, all of you."

Purring, Icepaw turned his head as he heard his mentor ask, "What happened, Icepaw? You look like you took on Redbird."

"Well…I kind of did," Icepaw admitted.

Hawkwing's eyes widened in surprise, "Did you chase him off?!"

Icepaw shook his head, "No…he actually had me pinned when Sweetie jumped on his back and chased him off." He couldn't help purring, "He won't forget her anytime soon, since she took a nick out of his ear!"

Turning to Sweetie, Hawkwing meowed, "Thank you for helping, Icepaw." He flicked Icepaw's ear affectionately with the tip of his tail, "It seems my apprentice forgets that he's just that!"

"Any cat would have done it," Sweetie admitted bashfully. Icepaw was still finding it hard to believe that this cat and the one he'd seen drive off Redbird were the same.

"Did I hear correctly?" Foxstar asked as he approached. "Sweetie drove off Redbird, the ShadowClan deputy?"

"That's not a small feat," Moonpelt added as he came up behind Foxstar.

Icepaw nodded, "It's true. She saved me from losing more of my fur!"

Moonpelt looked Icepaw over and chuckled, "It looks like you've lost plenty of it!" Icepaw laughed as well. He was quite a mess.

Gazing at Sweetie thoughtfully, Foxstar called out, "Let's head back to camp with the good news!"

Dawnstep, Bumblestripe, and Moonpelt immediately took off towards camp. Icepaw made to dash after them, but his left forepaw gave a throb of pain as he put his weight on it, and he staggered, hissing in pain and annoyance. Foxstar and Hawkwing, who had started after the others, turned to look back when they heard Icepaw's hiss of pain, but Sweetie was already letting Icepaw lean against her, "I'll help you back to camp." The she-cat stated.

Hawkwing walked back over, allowing Icepaw to lean against him as well, "That will show you not to attack a deputy."

"I'd do it again!" Icepaw stated.

Hawkwing's whiskers twitched in amusement, "Good. Next time you'll be more prepared, and hopefully for a warrior too!"

Icepaw noticed that Foxstar was gazing at Sweetie again, but he turned away to lead the way back to camp, keeping his pace at a walk. I wish I knew what he'd been thinking about, Icepaw thought, wondering why Foxstar seemed so interested in Sweetie.

It took them quite some time to make it back to camp, and by then, Sunhigh had come and gone, but sunset still hadn't come.

"Wait here," Sweetie said once they were in the camp, "I'll get Jayfeather!"

"You're all right on your own, right?" Hawkwing asked, already walking away.

"Yeah," Icepaw answered, wishing he hadn't injured his paw. He hated feeling useless.

He wasn't alone for long though, as Blazepaw and Ashfall dashed up to him, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Icepaw meowed, now feeling embarrassed.

"What happened?" Blazepaw asked.

He flattened his ears against his head, "I tried to take on Redbird."

"Mousebrain!" Ashfall meowed. "What possessed you to do that?"

"He was attacking Sweetie along with another cat, I couldn't just let her take them on alone!" Icepaw defended his actions.

"And I'm glad you did!" Sweetie purred as she trotted briskly over, Jayfeather following.

Jayfeather started sniffing Icepaw over, "It was still foolish! Apprentices shouldn't take on clan deputies, or leaders for that matter! They only get hurt!"

Icepaw snorted, receiving an extra hard prod in the side from Jayfeather. "It's my right haunch and left paw that hurt!"

Jayfeather questioned, "Can you put weight on your paw?"

Icepaw tentatively set his left paw on the ground, and as he put weight on it, he hissed in pain. Jayfeather sniffed at it, and meowed, "It's not broken. You just sprained it. Come along to my den."

Blazepaw and Ashfall went on either side of him, and Icepaw was glad for their help.

Foxstar's summons for a clan meeting made them stop though, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. "I couldn't be more proud of my warriors today!" Foxstar began. "Today we gained back our old territory from ShadowClan!" The clan all raised their voices in yowls of joy, triumph, and excitement. "There is a cat who showed their worth as a warrior today!" His gaze rested on Sweetie, and though Icepaw wished it was him, he knew the she-cat truly deserved it with all she had done that day. "Sweetie, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to defend this clan even at the cost of your life?"

Sweetie's eyes were round with shock as she managed to make her way to the front of the group, where she sat down and gazed up at Foxstar. Her voice didn't waver though, as she answered, "I do."

Foxstar gazed upwards, "I call upon our warrior ancestors to look upon this cat, she has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend her to you as a full warrior of our clan in turn. Sweetie…from this moment on you will be known as Sweetflower. StarClan honors your gentle heart and determination and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He leapt down from Highledge and touched the top of the newly named Sweetflower's head, and Sweetflower licked his shoulder respectively in turn.

"Sweetflower! Sweetflower!" The clan called out, welcoming the newest warrior.

Foxstar called out, "Sweetflower, instead of sitting vigil, since it is still very early in the day, you will take a patrol out to check our borders first with WindClan and then with ShadowClan." Sweetflower's eyes widened in surprise, but she dipped her head to Foxstar. The ThunderClan leader added, "Take Tawnyclaw, Rosepetal, and Blazepaw with you to patrol the borders."

Dipping her head once more, Sweetflower led her patrol out of the camp. Blazepaw left Icepaw's side, and Icepaw watched the patrol till they were out of sight. Sighing, he made his way into Jayfeather's den, Ashfall helping him the whole way. Knowing he'd be confined to the camp for several days, Icepaw resigned himself to dealing with the grouchy medicine cat's company for quite a while.


	17. Chapter 16

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. Expect several more chapters tonight!**_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

Two days after the fight with ShadowClan, Blazepaw was heading out with his mentor and Ashfall to hunt.

His whiskers twitched in amusement as he watched Icepaw start to creep out of the Medicine Cat's den. Icepaw just made it to the entrance, when Jayfeather's furious yowl echoed throughout the camp, "What have I told you?! You can't leave this den till I say you're fine! Now get back in here!"

Blazepaw's whiskers twitched in amusement as he watched his friend walk sulkily back into the den.

Chuckling, Ashfall commented, "It's only been two days and our friend is going stir crazy."

"You would too if you were used to being outside more, rather than cooped up in a den," Blazepaw stated. "Besides, Icepaw always likes having something to do, not just sleeping."

"I'd be happy with some extra sleep," Rosepetal meowed, stretching a bit as she led the way out of camp. "Then again, I also wanted to be in the patrol that got back our old territory from ShadowClan!"

Both Blazepaw and Ashfall snickered as they followed the feisty she-cat. Rosepetal hadn't stopped grumbling about not being in the patrol, and it didn't seem like she'd stop anytime soon.

Glancing over her shoulder, Rosepetal hissed at them in annoyance, though Blazepaw noticed the way her whiskers twitched as she looked ahead again, and he purred.

"We'll hunt in the main part of the forest," Rosepetal explained as they walked. "We'll hunt in the forest between the Ancient Oak and the training clearing."

"Sounds good," Ashfall agreed. "Maybe I'll try and catch a rabbit for Icepaw!"

Blazepaw laughed, "You'd be lucky to catch anything then!"

Ashfall's whisker's twitched, "I'm pretty sure I can catch one today! The sun's warm and the rabbits will be enjoying the sunlight!" He started to head in the direction of the clearing.

"Just don't focus on rabbit!" Rosepetal called after him. Ashfall flicked his tail-tip in acknowledgement as he disappeared into the undergrowth.

Rosepetal suggested, "Blazepaw, why don't you try near the Ancient Oak?"

"Sure," Blazepaw meowed as his mentor went her own way.

Padding further into the forest towards the Ancient Oak, Blazepaw found himself enjoying the solitude. The past two days he'd been very busy. Especially considering that he was currently the only apprentice with Icepaw injured. Blazepaw had found himself not only training with Rosepetal, but cleaning the dens in camp all in one day, and quite frankly, he was tired of the sound of his name being yowled from various parts of the camp.

He inhaled the scents of the forest deeply, gazing up at the orange, brown, yellow, and red foliage of the trees. Leaf-fall had truly set in, and though it meant a time of hunger, Blazepaw was looking forward to the cooler weather, already enjoying it compared to the heat of Green-leaf. Plus, he was half-hoping that Icepaw would start to sleep in the den more.

Knowing that the clan needed to be fed, he sighed before scenting the air. Immediately, the smell of a wood pigeon wafted over his scent glands. Smirking, he followed the scent, knowing that he was downwind of the bird. It wasn't long until he came upon it; the bird perched on the root of a tree. Blazepaw got as close as he dared before he pounced, neatly catching the startled wood pigeon between his paws and breaking its neck quickly before it could call out an alarm. Silently thanking StarClan for the catch, he buried the bird to keep it safe from other predators while he hunted some more.

Blazepaw made sure he was away from the area he'd killed the pigeon before scenting the air once more. This time, there were no obvious prey scents, and he decided to keep walking, stopping every now and then to scent the air.

Eventually, he came across a squirrel. As he stalked closer and closer, a bird up in a tree must have spotted his ginger and white pelt, since it trilled out an alarm that sent the squirrel scurrying towards a tree. Blazepaw ran after it, but he stopped at the tree, watching the squirrel's bushy tail disappear, "Mousedung!" Knowing that all prey within the area was now up in the trees or in burrows, he started headed closer to the Ancient Oak. As he spotted its massive trunk, he scented the air, and was pleased to scent water vole, and nearby. Listening, he knew it was close as he heard its heartbeat. Intent on the hunt now, he stalked towards the vole, and once he was sure he was close enough he sprang at it, catching it and killing it quickly and thanking StarClan once again. Burying the vole's body, he padded up to the Sky Oak and gazed up into its branches.

The branches seemed to stretch on up forever, and Blazepaw had to resist the urge to climb the massive tree. Instead, he sat down at its base and gazed out over the lake. He'd hunted for the clan, and it couldn't hurt for him to have a few quiet minutes to himself.

Gazing out over the lake, he felt a gust of wind, and he watched as the fierce gust created waves on the lake, the largest Blazepaw had ever seen. The waves battered the shore, and he found himself digging in his claws to keep himself from being blown away.

As the wind died down, a soft mew, which was definitely not Yellowfang's spoke in his ear, _"Be wary of the wind, Blazepaw, for though it has its gentle breezes, its gusts know no mercy."_

Blazepaw felt a shiver go up his spine. He knew that a StarClan warrior had just spoken to him, though he couldn't even guess who. He recognized the voice as the same one that had spoken to him when he'd come across the raspberry leaves that he now knew, had represented Tawnyclaw, Sweetflower, Honeykit, and Larkkit.

_But what does it mean?_ He wondered. StarClan's warnings to the clans were rarely very clear. _A better question is…why tell me?!_ Blazepaw was still perplexed at StarClan's fascination with him. First the prophecy saying that he was one of three cats that would help ThunderClan to rise, and now all these visions that affected his clan.

Sighing, he considered what he'd just heard, _"Be wary of the wind, for thought it has its gentle breezes, its gusts know no mercy." _Blazepaw frowned, _surely this isn't warning me about WindClan? We know they're a threat!_ A darker thought entered his thoughts, _but what about Icepaw?_ He shook his head, _No. Icepaw would never do anything to hurt or jeopardize the clan!_ Blazepaw couldn't ignore StarClan's warning though, so he decided to keep an eye on Icepaw just in case. _No matter how much I wish something isn't true, I can still at least be prepared for the worst…_

"Blazepaw!" He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of his name.

He could see Rosepetal and Ashfall, Ashfall had a young rabbit in his jaws while Rosepetal's catch of a Finch and a Robin were near her paws where she'd placed them, "What are you doing? You should have been hunting! Don't tell me you were daydreaming this whole time!"

"No!" Blazepaw defended his actions, "I caught a Wood Pigeon and a water vole!"

"Show me," Rosepetal meowed, her gaze saying that she didn't believe him.

Feeling resentful, Blazepaw first uncovered his water vole before he also uncovered the wood pigeon, "Happy?!"

Rosepetal flicked his shoulder with her tail, "I know you've been working very hard recently, so I just wanted to make sure you weren't slacking off when your clan needs you."

"I would never do such a thing!" Blazepaw snapped.

Rosepetal set her tail on Blazepaw's tail, "I know you wouldn't, but I had to double-check since I'm responsible for your training."

"Flet's head bah to capf!" Ashfall meowed.

"What?!"

He spat out his catch, "Let's head back to camp!" Ashfall added as he bent to pick up his rabbit, "I want to see Icepaw's face when he sees my catch!"

Blazepaw purred, "How did you catch it?"

"It ran into a tree," Ashfall admitted. "It panicked it heard me so close to it."

Rosepetal and Blazepaw laughed loudly, while Ashfall rolled his eyes, his rabbit in his jaws once more as he led the way to camp.

Entering the clearing, Blazepaw followed Ashfall towards the Medicine Cat's den. As they entered, Blazepaw called out, "Hey, Icepaw!"

Jayfeather growled back in little alcove where he stored his herbs, "If you're trying to get him to leave the den you've got another thing coming!"

"Not at all," Ashfall said as he set the rabbit on the ground, "We brought some fresh kill."

Icepaw was curled up in his nest, and he grouched, "Not hungry."

Not taking no for an answer, Ashfall tapped him on the head several times until Icepaw lifted it to hiss at him, "Look at the trouble I went through for you!"

"Did you catch that?" Icepaw asked, his tone surprised.

Ashfall nodded, "Sure did! Had to run it down!"

"After it ran into a tree," Blazepaw couldn't resist pointing out, his whiskers twitching in amusement.

Ashfall hissed at him, though his own whiskers were twitching in amusement as he admitted, "Yeah, after it ran into a tree."

Icepaw snorted with laughter, "It looks great."

"Admit it! I can catch rabbits that aren't old and stringy!"

"Yes, you can," Icepaw purred. "But there needs to be a tree for them to run into!"

All three young cats laughed, though it was soon ended by a bad-tempered Jayfeather herding them out of his den, saying his patient needed peace and quiet to rest.

Ashfall snorted, "Grouchy furball!"

"Be fair, Icepaw probably does need his rest," Blazepaw admitted.

"He needs fresh air before he goes crazy," Ashfall stated. "You can tell he's slowly going insane being cooped up."

"I'm sure Jayfeather will let him out of the den soon," Blazepaw meowed calmly.

They both turned their heads towards Highledge as Foxstar yowled, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Highledge for a clan meeting!"

Ashfall frowned, "What's going on?"

"I think I know," Blazepaw meowed, nodding towards Honeykit and Larkkit, their fur shining from a recent washing. Tawnyclaw and Sweetflower were sitting behind them proudly.

"All right, but who are their mentors?" Ashfall asked.

Blazepaw shrugged, "Beats me. We'll find out soon enough. Let's go sit down!" Padding towards the gathering clan, he glanced over his shoulder, and he was pleased to see Icepaw sitting just outside the Medicine Cat's den, Jayfeather near him. _At least he got to come out!_

Blazepaw sat down next to Hawkwing. The ginger and white apprentice had to fight back a purr as he noticed Hawkwing glancing towards the Medicine Cat's den. _Seems Icepaw isn't the only one wanting to get back to training!_

Ashfall hissed faintly beside him, and Blazepaw followed his gaze. Bumblestripe and Loudfang were sitting just beneath Highledge. It was clear that they were to be the new mentors. Blazepaw knew exactly why his friend had hissed, _I wish he'd forgive Loudfang already! He's a loyal cat…it just takes him longer to trust other cats, especially from other clans!_ He couldn't think ill of Loudfang, even if he didn't necessarily like how he'd attacked Icepaw, Loudfang had thought it was for the best. _I just hope he doesn't pass on his hatred of Icepaw to whichever kit he has as his apprentice._

"ThunderClan is proud to make two new apprentices today," Foxstar yowled. Beckoning Honeykit and Larkkit forward with his tail, he leapt down from Highledge, "Until the day that they have earned their warrior names, they shall be known as Honeypaw and Larkpaw." He turned his gaze to Bumblestripe, "Bumblestripe, you're one of the best hunters in the clan and a loyal warrior. Please pass on these skills to Honeypaw." Bumblestripe nodded and stepped forward to touch noses with Honeypaw. Honeypaw hesitated, and Blazepaw realized that the young she-cat had never seen an apprentice ceremony before. Luckily, Bumblestripe was patient, not to mention kind as he murmured soft words to her, and Honeypaw's eyes lit up as she gently touched noses with her new mentor. As they went off to sit down, Blazepaw noticed Bumblestripe winking at his new apprentice, and murmuring other words to her that made her tail shoot into the air with excitement.

Foxstar continued, "Loudfang, you were my apprentice, and you've been a warrior for several moons now. It's time you've had your first apprentice, and I expect you to pass down everything you learned from me to her."

Nodding, Loudfang stepped forward, and Larkpaw, having seen what her sister had done, touched her nose to Loudfang's.

The clan all raised their voices, yowling the names of the newly named apprentices, "Larkpaw! Honeypaw!"

Blazepaw yowled their names as well, and he heard Ashfall beside him. As he glanced towards the Medicine Cat's den, he purred as he saw Icepaw on his hind legs, yowling the apprentices' names. Jayfeather looked furious as he hissed something at Icepaw, who reluctantly stopped.

"I want to be an apprentice!" Blazepaw heard Thunderkit's meow, and he turned to look at Icecloud and her kits.

Frostkit meowed, or was it Snowkit, "Me too!"

"I want to too!" Her sister, Snowkit chimed in, or was it Frostkit?

Silver kit didn't want to be left out, "I do too!"

"You're still too young," Icecloud explained. Her kits protested all the more as she shepherded them back into the Nursery.

Purring in amusement, Blazepaw temporarily forgot about the warning he'd received at the Ancient Oak.


	18. Chapter 17

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. **_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17<strong>

Three days after Honeypaw and Larkpaw's Apprentice Ceremony, Icepaw was going insane. He couldn't go out of the Medicine Cat's den except to make dirt, he couldn't run, he couldn't jump, he couldn't do his apprentice duties. He couldn't do anything!

Lying in his nest, Icepaw was plotting how to make a break for the camp entrance without alerting Jayfeather, and he had a good plan going.

Just as he tensed to make a dash for it, Jayfeather came back from gathering herbs.

_WHY?! _Icepaw wailed silently. He set his head on his paws and sighed heavily. Jayfeather glanced at him, but he didn't say anything, his mouth full of marigold. He entered the smaller den, and Icepaw could hear him moving around in their as he set the fresh stalks of marigold in the den.

Coming back out into the main den, Jayfeather meowed, "You can return to your apprentice duties, just don't overdo it! Your paw should be fine, but give yourself a couple days to ease back into your training."

Icepaw was up on his paws in an instant, he could hear Jayfeather yowl, "DID YOU HEAR A WORD I SAID?!"

Sliding to a halt in front of the Warriors den, he poked his head in, knowing Hawkwing was in camp.

He was in luck! Hawkwing yawned as he just woke up, and he glanced at Icepaw, "From Jayfeather's racket, I'm assuming you're ready for some training?"

"You have no idea!" Icepaw backed out of the entrance as Hawkwing walked out, his long fur sticking out in a couple places. Hawking licked the fur back into place, "All right. We'll go meet up with Loudfang and Larkpaw."

All of Icepaw's excitement went away with the breeze, _really?! REALLY?! StarClan must hate me! They must!_

Hawkwing bumped his shoulder, "Don't be like that! See this as an opportunity to get Loudfang on your side. If you could get Dawnstep to except you, you can get Loudfang too."

_I'd rather befriend a hundred Dawnstep and Tawnyclaw's!_ Icepaw thought sourly, but he followed Hawkwing out of the camp and to the clearing, trailing behind his mentor as he ran. Contrary to what Jayfeather believed, Icepaw had heard him, and since he didn't want to be stuck in the Medicine Cat's den again anytime soon, Icepaw was taking it as easy as possible on his fore paw.

Loudfang commented as they entered the clearing, "You've lost some fitness, Icepaw."

Icepaw bristled, though he managed to keep back the hiss that rose in his throat. He knew that Loudfang was just commenting on it, but it just rubbed his fur the wrong way.

"What are you teaching Larkpaw?" Hawkwing questioned.

"Battle moves," Loudfang stated. "Just the basics; especially with the threat from WindClan." Icepaw swore Loudfang glanced his way.

_Just one more comment or wrong look, just one more…!_ Icepaw took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Loudfang wasn't trying to get him riled on purpose, surely. Yeah, they didn't like each other, but Loudfang wouldn't openly antagonize him with not only Hawkwing present, but his apprentice as well.

"Any move in particular you're trying to show her?" Hawkwing asked.

Larkpaw answered for herself, "Loudfang says that I need to be quicker on my paws!"

"That you do," Loudfang grunted. "You're slower than a snail!"

"I am not!" Larkpaw protested. "I just see the reason to rush things!"

"It's not rushing!" Loudfang moaned. He looked at Hawkwing beseeching, "This is how far we've gotten today!"

Hawkwing purred in amusement, "I'll take Larkpaw for the day, and you can work with Icepaw, he needs more battle training."

Icepaw's mouth fell open, _what?! Really? Just because I lost to Redbird I need more battle training?! Gah!_ Frustrated, Icepaw kept his opinions to himself.

As Hawkwing took Larkpaw to a different training spot, Loudfang turned to Icepaw, and he could see that he didn't look thrilled with the situation any more than Icepaw did. "Let's start," Loudfang muttered, flattening his ears against his head and hissing at Icepaw, "I'm an attacking WindClan warrior, what are you going to do?!"

Now Icepaw knew Loudfang was antagonizing him, but he focused, sinking low to the ground and hissing at Loudfang before he took an experimental swipe at the left side of his face. Loudfang ducked the blow and lunged forward, bowling right into Icepaw and knocking the wind out of him. Expecting to be torn to shreds like the time he'd fought with Blazepaw, he blinked when Loudfang's weight left him. Getting to his paws quickly, he glanced at the warrior.

Loudfang meowed calmly, "You need to be prepared for a counterstrike of any sort." He went low to the ground once more, "Come at me again!"

Not sure what was going on, Icepaw did as he was told and did the same thing as last time, but when Loudfang lunged forward, Icepaw dodged to the side, hitting Loudfang's exposed side with sheathed claws.

"Better," Loudfang nodded in approval. "Try not to look directly at where you plan to go though, it tends to give you away." Icepaw nodded, taking it all in. "This time we'll keep going."

Nodding, Icepaw was perplexed by Loudfang's behavior, but he didn't question it, focusing on the task at paw. This time, he glanced at Loudfang's left as if he was going to do the same move, but this time, he sprinted towards his right, head butting his chest. This didn't go as planned, since Loudfang reared up. Backing up quickly, Icepaw watched as Loudfang got back down onto all fours, and the warrior stalked towards him. Watching his every move carefully, Icepaw was prepared for when Loudfang lunged at him. Dodging to the side, Icepaw leapt on his back, and though he unsheathed his claws, he didn't dig them in, merely using them to stay on Loudfang's back.

Rearing backwards, Loudfang started to topple over, and Icepaw leapt off his back and dashed in, pinning the young warrior, making sure to keep his paws out of reach of his mouth. He'd learned from his experience with Redbird.

"Good job," Loudfang meowed. "Now let me up!"

Icepaw did as he was told, still perplexed by Loudfang's attitude. As the young warrior got up, Icepaw could see that Loudfang still didn't trust him. His distrust showing in his light green eyes; Icepaw appreciated his gesture though. He was finally giving him a chance…that or he was just being civil because he had to be.

As if reading his mind, Loudfang growled, "Don't misunderstand. I still don't trust you, Icepaw! You may have fought against your clan once, and they may claim to have driven you out, but I still think you're loyal to them!"

Before Icepaw could respond, Hawkwing returned with Larkpaw practically bouncing behind him, "How did it go?"

Loudfang meowed, "He's got the potential to be a great fighter. Once he's back in shape, he'll be even better. What about Larkpaw?"

"I think I got her to understand why she needs to be quick on her paws," Hawkwing meowed. "Are you two up for a patrol of the WindClan border? Moonpelt came around with a hunting patrol and asked if we'd check it."

"Can the scheduled patrol not check it at sunfall?" Loudfang questioned.

Hawkwing shook his head, "They've been getting more aggressive in marking their border, so Foxstar order more patrols."

"Let's go check it then," Loudfang meowed, motioning for Larkpaw to follow him.

Icepaw made to follow as well, when Hawkwing blocked his path, "How's your paw?"

"It's fine," Icepaw meowed. "It doesn't hurt."

Nodding, Hawkwing got out of his way, letting Icepaw follow Larkpaw, and taking the rear position of the patrol. Icepaw sprinted a bit to keep up and he grinned when he didn't feel pain in his paw.

Loudfang slowed as they neared the border, and he meowed to Larkpaw, "Stay close to me. I can scent a WindClan patrol."

"It's an oncoming patrol," Hawkwing meowed. "We'd best make it clear we're not trying anything suspicious by staying in the undergrowth."

Nodding, Loudfang went right up to the border that was even with the trees.

Icepaw scented the air, recognizing the scents on the breeze, _Spiderpaw, Darktail, Springpaw, Runningcloud, and Barkpelt…Not a patrol I'd want to run into…_

The five WindClan cats crested the hill and ran towards the border, their pelts bristling as they stopped right at it, glaring at the ThunderClan cats.

"What are you doing so close to the border?!" Runningcloud demanded.

Hawkwing was calm, "Simply patrolling it. Making sure you haven't moved it on us."

"Unless you wanted to move it back to its original spot, then we wouldn't question it," Loudfang meowed.

Darktail bared his teeth, "As if we'd give you ThunderClan a mouse-length of our territory!"

Springpaw taunted Larkpaw, who was hiding behind Loudfang, "What's the matter little apprentice? Scared of me?!"

"Leave her alone," Icepaw growled.

Springpaw didn't back down, "Ooh! I'm really scared Icepaw!"

"You should be considering I beat you the last time we fought!"

Springpaw hissed, but Spiderpaw growled, "Why don't you come over here and take me on?! I would tear your pelt off in two seconds!"

"As if, mouse-brain!" Icepaw snarled.

"What's the matter, _Brother_, afraid to fight me?!" Spiderpaw taunted.

"You wish, foxface!"

Spiderpaw yowled, but before he could throw himself at Icepaw, Darktail blocked his path. "Now's not the time, Spiderpaw!" He glared at the ThunderClan patrol, "Next time we won't just chat!"

Icepaw was the first of the patrol to hiss at the retreating backs of the WindClan patrol, and Spiderpaw turned to lunge at him again, only to receive a hard cuff to his ears from Darktail. The rest of the patrol added their own hisses to Icepaw's.

Hawkwing murmured, "We need to report this to Foxstar." He turned and led the way back to camp.

Icepaw and Larkpaw walked behind their mentors, and Larkpaw mewed, "Thank you, Icepaw…for standing up for me I mean!"

"Of course!" Icepaw meowed. "I'd do the same for any cat of ThunderClan. Just like I know you'd do the same!"

"I hope to be as brave as you!" Larkpaw meowed. "You weren't afraid of any of those cats!" She frowned, "They were WindClan…isn't that your old clan? Why aren't you still there? Shouldn't you at least be friendly with them?"

Icepaw noticed that Loudfang glanced back at him, and even though Hawkwing didn't look over his shoulder, Icepaw knew he was listening just as intently, "They didn't follow the warrior code, so my father and I came here. They're not my clan anymore. ThunderClan is. As for being friends, well, you saw how my own brother was towards me, the whole clan hates my guts."

"Is that they only thing keeping you from going back?"

"No," Icepaw answered. "I'm a ThunderClan cat now. WindClan has no hold over me."

"Well said," Hawkwing meowed. Loudfang merely turned to look ahead again.

Icepaw felt a bit bad for lying. His heart still yearned to be a WindClan cat again, but he knew that that wouldn't be possible. He'd have to be the best warrior of ThunderClan, and he was fine with that….right? _ThunderClan accepted Emberpelt and I when they had every reason not to. I owe them my loyalty. They've been more of a clan then WindClan ever was!_ Knowing that his loyalties were truly with ThunderClan, he followed them all down the stone wall and into the camp.

"I'll report to Foxstar," Hawkwing meowed, making his way towards Highledge. "You can all get something to eat. You've earned it!"

Icepaw towards the fresh-kill pile with Larkpaw; he was surprised when Loudfang called out his name, "Icepaw!"

Turning around, he asked, "What?"

"Today…what you said…" Loudfang scoffed at the ground with his right forepaw, making his white fur on his paw brown with dust, "I can see that you're a loyal ThunderClan cat."

Stunned, Icepaw didn't know what to say. Luckily, Loudfang wasn't done, "Don't think that doesn't mean I'll take it easy on you!"

Whiskers twitching in amusement, Icepaw watched as Loudfang headed towards the warriors' den. He hadn't expected to ever really befriend Loudfang, but he was glad that he had at least gained the young warrior's respect. _Maybe now things in the clan will be a bit more relaxed!_


	19. Chapter 18

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series.**_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 18<strong>

Blazepaw couldn't sit still as he waited in the training clearing for Hawkwing and Rosepetal to arrive. Later that night, he and Icepaw would be going to the Gathering, Icepaw's first as a ThunderClan cat, and to top it off, they were having an assessment. It'd been a half-moon since the spat on the WindClan border, and WindClan still hadn't tried anything. Tension in ThunderClan was running high though, and Blazepaw knew that if WindClan didn't attack soon, they would.

Misgivings about Icepaw entered his mind, and he quickly put them to the back of his mind, _StarClan's warning wasn't about Icepaw! It couldn't have been! He would never betray ThunderClan!_ Still, the fact that the words warned of a wind showing no mercy, he couldn't quite get rid of his suspicions.

Glancing furtively at Icepaw, trying to see if anything was different about his white and ginger friend or if there was any indication in his friend's blue eyes to indicate dislike, internal conflict, or a hidden hatred, but Blazepaw didn't see any of those signs.

"If you want to stare at my crooked jaw, you don't have to do it like that," Icepaw teased, catching Blazepaw watching him.

Blazepaw hid his embarrassment at being caught by snorting, "No way! I'm just trying to see if you're nervous about the assessment!"

"Not at all," Icepaw answered confidently. "You forget that I've been an apprentice a quarter moon longer than you have!"

"I wish YOU'D forget that fact," Blazepaw grumbled. It was true. He had forgotten that Icepaw, though the same age as Blazepaw, had been an apprentice a quarter moon longer. "You're seriously not worried though?"

Icepaw shook his head, "There's no reason to be nervous. It's not like Foxstar will be making either of us warriors anytime soon."

"He could," Blazepaw meowed.

Icepaw shrugged, "I guess. But don't you think he'd watch the assessment himself if he was really interested in seeing how our progress was coming along or at least send Moonpelt to watch?"

"True," Blazepaw conceded, but he wished he didn't have growing doubts about his father. Blazepaw had noticed that Foxstar spent less and less time with his clan, and more and more time up in his den. Moonpelt was taking on more of the leader's duties, and it worried Blazepaw. _How much faith has he lost in StarClan and his own cats?_

"Hey! Relax!" Icepaw meowed, poking Blazepaw's shoulder with his left fore paw and jolting him out of his thougths. "You'll do just fine!"

"Right!" Blazepaw agreed, smiling at his friend.

Hawkwing and Rosepetal arrived, the two cats almost looking comical as they sat down together, gazing at the apprentices; Hawkwing looking serious, his ice blue gaze intimidating, while Rosepetal was obviously excited, kneading the ground with her forepaws, barely able to contain her energy. Hawkwing didn't noticed this though as he said, "Today, you two will be assessed on how well you can hunt. Icepaw, you will hunt near the abandoned two-leg nest."

"And Blazepaw," Rosepetal meowed. "You will hunt near the old thunderpath that runs close to the abandoned two-leg nest."

Hawkwing nodded, "Both of you do your best. We will be watching how you hunt, but you won't see us."

"That's right," Rosepetal agreed. "Now off you go!"

Perhaps it was his mentor's infectious excitement, or maybe it was just habit. Whatever it was, Blazepaw actually charged out of the clearing ahead of Icepaw, though his friend easily overtook him, and was soon lost to sight in the undergrowth of the forest, though many leaves had been dropped, there were still quite a few clinging to various plants.

Reaching the old thunderpath, Blazepaw slowed, scenting the air. He was pleased to scent many prey animals including mouse, squirrels, and various birds, including thrushes, starlings, and a wood pigeon. Grinning, he set off, his ears catching the sound of a nut being cracked.

By Sunhigh, Blazepaw was thrilled with how well his hunt had gone, he'd caught two starlings, a squirrel, and a thrush. Scenting the air, his eyes lit up in delight as he scented grouse on the wind, _now that'd be a great catch!_

Following the scent, he started stalking as he got closer. Blazepaw arrived on the scene just in time to watch Icepaw pounce on the grouse, killing it easily. "Great catch," he meowed as he stepped out of the undergrowth.

"Thanks," Icepaw meowed. "I'm glad I caught it! I've had the worst luck!"

Blazepaw's whiskers twitched in amusement, "Serves you right for being cocky!"

Shrugging, Icepaw turned as movement sounded from the undergrowth. Blazepaw watched as Hawkwing and Rosepetal stepped out from it, "Well done, both of you," Hawkwing praised.

"You did really well, the clan will eat well tonight," Rosepetal purred. "A good meal before the prey really starts preparing for Leafbare."

"We'll help you carry your catches back to camp," Hawkwing added. "Icepaw, let's go pick up that rabbit and squirrel."

Rosepetal helped Blazepaw collect his fresh-kill, and they headed back to camp, catching up with Hawkwing and Icepaw as they entered the camp. Cinderheart and Emberpelt were at the fresh-kill pile, sniffing over the pieces of prey. Emberpelt lifted his head, opening his mouth to scent the air, "Is that rabbit?"

"Icepaw set the rabbit down, "Yep! Freshly caught!"

Emberpelt purred, "I can scent grouse too!"

Hawkwing set the grouse down along with the squirrel, "Our apprentices hunted well. The clan will be well fed tonight."

Cinderheart spotted Blazepaw's catch, "Oh! You caught a thrush, my favorite!" Taking the thrush in her jaws, and Emberpelt grabbing the rabbit, they both returned to the elders' den.

Icecloud came out of the Nursery, her four kits bouncing around her, "Wonderful catches you two!" She sniffed over the fresh-kill pile, picking the two squirrels.

"But I wanted to eat the grouse!" Thunderkit complained.

Icecloud meowed, "Maybe someone will let you have a bite if you ask them politely, but you're going to eat this squirrel."

"I can't wait to be an apprentice then I can eat what I want!" Thunderkit meowed loudly.

Hawkwing, Rosepetal, Icepaw, and Blazepaw all purred with amusement at the little tom-cat.

"He'll be a handful when he's an apprentice," Hawkwing meowed.

Rosepetal nodded, "He'll keep his mentor on his toes!"

Hawkwing turned to Icepaw and Blazepaw, "You two pick out something to eat and rest until it's time for the Gathering. You've done very well today."

Purring, Blazepaw scooped up a water vole, while Icepaw picked up a magpie.

Settling down outside the apprentices' den to eat, Blazepaw asked, "Are you excited for the Gathering."

Icepaw nodded, swallowing the bite he'd taken, "Yeah, I'm eager to see the other clans again! It's been a long time since I went to a gathering!"

Taking a bite from his water vole, Blazepaw asked, "You're not worried about WindClan then?"

"I'm a little worried," Icepaw admitted. "But I don't think they'll do anything to me at a Gathering. They're not willing to break the warrior code that far!"

Blazepaw silently hoped he was right, _maybe that's what StarClan was trying to tell me…Maybe WindClan will attack at the Gathering! _Losing his appetite, he forced himself to eat the rest of his water vole before he entered the den, thankful that the rambunctious Honeypaw and Larkpaw weren't there. Curling up, Blazepaw started to drift off to sleep almost immediately. He was barely aware of Icepaw entering the den and curling up beside him.

Blazepaw found himself just outside the camp, glancing around, Blazepaw realized that he was just above the camp. Curious, he padded to the edge of the hollow and peered down into the camp, watching the going ons of the clan.

"Hello, Blazepaw," a soft mew came from behind him.

Whipping around, Blazepaw gazed at the pale ginger she cat in front of him, "Who are you?"

"I'm Leafpool," the she-cat answered. Blazepaw recognized the name of one of the previous medicine-cats of ThunderClan, and he noticed the starry sheen of her fur.

"You've spoken to me twice before now," Blazepaw meowed, dipping his head to her, "Thank you for telling me about Tawnyclaw, Sweetflower, and the kits."

Leafpool smiled, "Of course. But that's not why I'm here now, Blazepaw."

"Does this have to do with what you told me by the Sky Oak?"

"Yes," Leafpool meowed. "You can rest assured, the threat does not come from your friend, Icepaw."

"Can't you tell me anything else though?" Blazepaw begged. "How can I help my clan if I don't even know when they will attack?!"

Leafpool gave a sad smile, "Even I don't know that, little one."

Blazepaw sighed, "I guess you can't…"

"Just know that StarClan is always with you, little one, even when things seem hopeless, we're beside you," Leafpool murmured.

Blazepaw awoke in the den as Icepaw stirred beside him. "Time to go," Icepaw yawned, getting to his paws and stretching.

"Right," Blazepaw stood up and stretched before he followed his friend outside.

Outside, Blazepaw looked at the cats that were already waiting to go to the gathering including Moonpelt, Hawkwing, Rosepetal, Dawnstep, Loudfang, Ashfall, Sweetflower, Mousewhisker, Berrynose, and Jayfeather.

"Quite a patrol tonight," Icepaw commented. "Do you think Foxstar suspects something will happen at the Gathering?"

"Maybe," Blazepaw answered. "After all, WindClan has been pretty aggressive."

"He's letting me go though, he can't be that worried," Icepaw tried to reassure him.

Blazepaw shrugged, "Who knows!"

Just as they joined the group, Foxstar came out of his den, padding down to join the patrol. Blazepaw felt a twinge of unease as he noticed how thin his father was, even though his fur was groomed, it didn't shine with a healthy sheen. _Something's wrong with him! We can't afford to lose our Clan leader, not now! Not when we've gained so much!_

Giving the signal to head out as soon as he reached the patrol, the ThunderClan cats followed their leader into the forest.

The crisp Leaf-fall air felt good to Blazepaw, and he could tell Icepaw felt the same as the former WindClan apprentice ran with his clan mates, keeping his pace even with theirs, though he wove from one side of the patrol to the other.

"Would you stop that!" Hawkwing pretended to be irritated with Icepaw. "Save your energy!"

Icepaw settled down to run beside Blazepaw once more, but Blazepaw could tell his friend still wanted to enjoy the night air.

Reaching the WindClan border, the ThunderClan patrol didn't slow down, merely staying near the lake as they ran towards the tree bridge, only slowing once they drew near it, allowing WindClan to go first.

Blazepaw let Icepaw go ahead of him, following his friend as the white and ginger apprentice leapt to the shore. Blazepaw didn't have any qualms about the jump this time and landed neatly beside his friend.

"Well, let's go see what welcome we'll get," Icepaw meowed, leading the way into the bushes. Blazepaw followed him.

Reaching the clearing, he noticed that WindClan and ShadowClan were keeping themselves separate from both ThunderClan and RiverClan, not to mention each other, while the RiverClan cats socialized with the newly arrived ThunderClan cats.

Blazepaw noticed Ashfall speaking with a brown she-cat from RiverClan, and Moonpelt was speaking with the deputy, Sneezestorm, most of the ThunderClan cats were speaking with RiverClan cats, or else staying in their own little groups.

"This is the most welcoming any clan has ever been to us," Blazepaw meowed.

"It's kind of odd," Icepaw meowed. He turned as two RiverClan apprentices approached them. A brown tom and a black and white she-cat.

"Hi!" The she-cat greeted them warmly. "I'm Chirppaw, this is Pinepaw."

Blazepaw noticed the suspicion in Icepaw's eyes and he nudged him, "I'm Blazepaw, and this is Icepaw."

"I remember you," Pinepaw meowed. "You're the WindClan apprentice that took on a badger."

"Yeah, but I'm a ThunderClan apprentice now," Icepaw stated, his tone defensive.

Pinepaw shrugged, "I don't blame you for leaving WindClan, those foxhearts!"

Blazepaw laughed nervously as he noticed Icepaw unsheathe his claws. He was thankful when he heard Dawnstar's yowl, "We need to go sit with our clan mates, nice meeting you!" He shoved Icepaw roughly, muttering, "No need to get touchy, they were speaking of WindClan, not you!"

"Not all cats in WindClan are foxhearts," Icepaw growled.

Blazepaw rolled his eyes as they sat down, "They don't know that!"

Icepaw snorted, but didn't say anything as Dawnstar started to speak, "ShadowClan remains strong, even after giving some of our territory to ThunderClan, returning the original territory to them as agreed upon by Blackstar and Firestar many moons ago."

"Gave my a-!"

"Shush!" Blazepaw growled quietly.

"ShadowClan is proud to announce that we have three new kits in the clan, and that Rowanheart is due to have her litter any day now," Dawnstart glared at Minnowstar and Foxstar, "ShadowClan grows stronger!" She sat down, and Thistlestar immediately took her place.

"WindClan has two new warriors, Mistrain and Badgerface," Thistlestar announced.

Blazepaw was surprised when Icepaw stood on his hind legs, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of a black and white furred warrior that Blazepaw could just see as all the clans welcomed the new warrior.

"Also, we're keeping a diligent watch on our borders, and we intend on leaving clear messages to those that threaten them," Thistlestar stated.

Minnowstar growled, her eyes narrowed to furious slits, "Is that a threat, Thistlestar?"  
>"Take it however you want," Thistlestar meowed, looking quite smug.<p>

Glaring at Thistlestar as he sat back down, Minnowstar stepped forward, "RiverClan is flourishing and we too, welcome a new warrior, Ottertail."

The gathered cats all yowled the new warriors name, and Blazepaw noticed the brown she-cat he'd seen Ashfall talking to lower her head in embarrassment. Minnowstar finished, glaring at Thistlestar, "We'll be watching our borders."

Stepping forward as Minnowstar sat down, he turned to Dawnstar, "ThunderClan thanks ShadowClan for their generous offer in returning the territory we once had."

Blazepaw had to keep from laughing as he watched Dawnstar's expression go from smug to furious, and he noticed Icepaw was having trouble containing his laughter too.

"ThunderClan has two new apprentices, Honeypaw and Larkpaw, though they are not here tonight. And we welcome a new warrior, Sweetflower," Foxstar announced. The cats called out the names of the three cats mentioned, though Blazepaw noticed that not all cats did. It wasn't exactly hidden knowledge that ThunderClan had taken in four loners. Foxstar finished, "ThunderClan is also keeping a close eye on its borders and we're ready for any attack!" Finished, he leapt down from the tree, and the other leaders did the same. Blazepaw felt yet another pang of worry as he noticed how old his father looked compared to the other leaders.

Foxstar called for his clan to gather around him, and as ThunderClan gathered around him, Blazepaw frowned as Minnowstar trotted over to him.

"Minnowstar?" Foxstar questioned, surprise showing in his eyes. "What is it?"

"I just thought I'd let you know, that should your clan ever need help, do not hesitate to call upon RiverClan for help," Minnowstar meowed.

Foxstar snarled, "Are you saying ThunderClan is weak?!"

"Not at all," Minnowstar replied calmly. "I was merely letting you know that not all clans are against ThunderClan." Turning away, she returned to her clan.

Snorting, Foxstar led the way to the tree bridge, following the last of the ShadowClan cats across.

About to say something to Icepaw, Blazepaw was shocked when he noticed his friend wasn't beside him, "Icepaw?!" He called out. Looking around, he spotted Icepaw speaking with the black and white WindClan warrior, Badgerface. _What is he doing? _Icepaw smiled at the warrior before he dashed over to Blazepaw, "What was that about?"

"Badgerface and I were friends back in WindClan," Icepaw explained. "I wanted to congratulate him on becoming a warrior."

"And he was friendly to you?" Blazepaw was astounded. Last he knew, WindClan had been told to rip Emberpelt and Icepaw to shreds on sight.

"Yeah, like I said, not all cats of WindClan are foxhearts," Icepaw meowed. He leapt onto the tree bridge, and Blazepaw followed him, glad that Leafpool had told him that Icepaw wasn't who she'd been warning him about. If she hadn't, Blazepaw would have doubted his friend's loyalties.

Returning to the camp, Foxstar wasted no time in calling for the clan to gather, "Cats of ThunderClan, it has been made clear tonight that WindClan is planning to attack us again! I want everyone prepared! Apprentices are not to leave the camp without a warrior, I want two cats guarding the one underground cave entrance near our camp, and I want more patrols on the WindClan border! When WindClan attacks, they'll be in for a ready ThunderClan!"

Yowls of approval rang throughout the clearing, and Blazepaw yowled with them, though he stopped abruptly as he heard Leafpool's voice, _"Be wary of the wind, Blazepaw, for though it has its gentle breezes, its gusts know no mercy."_


	20. Chapter 19

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. What can I say? I was on a roll the last couple nights! Only two more chapters!**_**

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><p><strong>Chapter 19<strong>

A quarter-moon had passed since the Gathering, and WindClan had still not attacked, but ThunderClan refused to let their guard down. Icepaw set his catch from the morning hunting patrol on the fresh-kill pile, wishing it was more. He'd only managed to catch a magpie. Leaf-fall was truly setting in, and Leaf-bare was drawing closer every day.

He glanced at his mentor as Hawkwing meowed, "Why don't you take a break for a bit, Icepaw? You've been working your paws off."

"If you're going out on patrol, I'm going too!" Icepaw stated. He was determined to be helpful to his clan.

Hawkwing purred, "I'm going to relax actually."

Bumblestripe teased from Hawkwing's other side, "Seeing Dawnstep? I think the whole clan's been waiting for you two to announce that you're expecting kits."

"Well now that you mention it," Dawnstep meowed as she padded up to them, "I am expecting kits."

"Really?" Bumblestripe looked pleasantly surprised. "Congratulations!"

"We were waiting for a better time to announce it," Hawkwing meowed, brushing his fur against Dawnstep's. "But since you're so nosey!"

They all laughed. Bumblestripe took a mouse off the fresh-kill pile and meowed, "Congrats again!"

"Congratulations," Icepaw said to his mentor and Dawnstep.

"Thank you, Icepaw," Dawnstep meowed.

Hawkwing added, "Now go do rest or do something that doesn't involve prepping for the attack from WindClan!" He growled at Icepaw, who laughed and darted away from the fresh-kill pile. About to head over to the apprentices' den, he heard his name being called. Turning around, he gazed down at Thunderkit.

"Can you play with us, please?!" the gray and white kit begged.

Icepaw sighed, though he knew his answer already, "Sure, Thunderkit!"

"Great!" Thunderkit bounded back over to his siblings, while Icepaw followed him at a walk.

"Will you really play with us?" Silverkit asked.

"Of course," Icepaw meowed. "My mentor told me to do something that didn't involve preparing for the WindClan attack."

"Great!" Frostkit and Snowkit meowed in perfect unison. It really was hard to tell the two apart.

"Can you be an invading warrior? We'll be the brave ThunderClan warriors," Thunderkit mewed excitedly.

Whiskers twitching in amusement, he sank low to the ground, "I'm an invading ShadowClan warrior! I eat pipsqueaks like you for breakfast!"

The kits immediately pounced on him squeaking and growling, and Icepaw batted at them gently, very aware of Icecloud watching him from inside the Nursery.

Eventually, he collapsed dramatically onto his side, and he lay still. Thunderkit poked him several times, "We won!" All the kits cheered, but Icepaw didn't move. "Icepaw?" Thunderkit poked him again. Icepaw sprang to his paws and all the kits squeaked in fright, but they were soon laughing, "We knew you weren't dead!"

"Of course not," Icepaw meowed. He glanced towards the warriors' den as Hawkwing and Dawnstep left the camp, and Icepaw knew they were heading to guard the tunnel entrance, especially since they crossed paths with Loudfang and Ashfall as they entered the camp.

Icepaw laid down, and the kits continued to play, Silverkit having found a ball of moss, and every now and then the kits batted it over to him, and he'd send it across the clearing, watching them scamper after it. The sun felt good on his fur as it warmed it, and soon, Icepaw was dozing.

When he woke up, it was Sunhigh, stretching, he moved slowly, feeling little bodies pressed against his fur. Glancing down, he smiled at the snoozing Thunderkit, Silverkit, Frostkit, and Snowkit.

"Would you help me get them into the Nursery?" Icecloud asked. "I didn't want to disturb you earlier."

"Sure," Icepaw meowed, gently picking up Silverkit. Icecloud grabbed Frostkit, setting down Silverkit, Icepaw headed back outside to grab Thunderkit when a blood curdling caterwaul of terror reached his ears. His eyes grew wide with horror as Dawnstep ran into the camp, her pale gray tabby fur matted with blood along her side, haunches, and neck, "WindClan is attacking!"

Rushing forward, Icepaw grabbed Thunderkit's scruff, the kit squeaking in protest at his rude awakening. Sending him sliding into the den, Icepaw grabbed Snowkit and handed her off to Icecloud, who ran into the Nursery, the elders hurried to join her, Berrynose leading the way, followed by a stiffly moving Cloudtail, and Cinderheart bringing up the rear with Emberpelt.

Heart hammering, Icepaw turned to face the entrance of the camp. He didn't have to wait long before the WindClan patrol darted into the camp.

Foxstar was the first ThunderClan cat to attack the WindClan cats, lunging right at Thistlestar with a furious yowl. Moonpelt leapt into the fray, bowling Sunstrike over, the two cats snarling at each other. Icepaw ran to Dawnstep's aid, the injured she-cat taking on Darktail and Spiderpaw. Flinging himself at his brother, Icepaw yowled, "Leave her alone!"

Spiderpaw was bowled over, but not pinned, getting quickly to his paws and lashing out at Icepaw, his claws raking across Icepaw's muzzle, "I told you we'd fight, Icepaw!" Rearing onto his hind legs, Icepaw lashed out at Spiderpaw, his claws raking across his face before Spiderpaw rose on his hind legs to meet him. Though Spiderpaw was a bit nimbler, Icepaw had the force behind his blows, and he knocked his brother to the ground. Pinning him, Icepaw started to rake his hind claws against Spiderpaw's stomach. Yowling in pain and terror, Icepaw was about to let Spiderpaw up when he another cat slammed into him, knocking him off his paws. He watched as Spiderpaw got up and ran out of the camp. Glancing up at his attacker, Icepaw felt his body to go limp. His mother towered above him, her lips drawn back in a snarl. "Flowerstep? It's me! Icepaw! Your son!"

Her gaze was cold as she snarled, "I only have one son!" Icepaw didn't know how to react as she started raking his stomach with her claws, but his indecision was soon overtaken by instinct to get her off of him at least. Yowling in pain, he tried to kick her off, but she kept his hind legs pinned. Icepaw was starting to panic as he struggled to get Flowerstep off.

A furious hiss reached his ears and he watched as a white forepaw shot towards his mother's face, the attacker's claws raking across her face. Yowling in pain and rage, she released Icepaw, who quickly got out of range of her claws.

He gazed at his rescuer in surprise; Icecloud was bristling with fury, "Leave him alone!"

Icepaw didn't want Icecloud to get hurt and he stood beside her, though he really didn't want to hurt her.

Flowerstep snarled, "My how low you've fallen! Your brother is truly a better cat then you'll ever be! I should have known it was a sign from StarClan when I dropped you and you broke your jaw!"

"Icepaw is ten times the warrior of any WindClan cat!" Icecloud yowled, throwing herself at Flowerstep, the two she-cats yowling and screeching as they rolled, each one trying to gain the upper paw.

Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Icepaw dodged to the side just in time as Darktail tried to bowl him over. "You're lucky that she-cat was there to help you out, but who will help you against me?"

"I don't need any help," Icepaw meowed quietly, watching Darktail warily.

Darktail didn't keep him waiting long, lunging forward, and striking low at Icepaw's frong legs. Rearing up, Icepaw slammed down on Darktail's shoulders, but the larger warrior surged upward, head butting Icepaw's stomach, and Icepaw landed on the ground, hard, winded. Not wasting anytime, Darktail grabbed his scruff, and started to shake him violently.

At first, Icepaw struggled, but finding no way to free himself, he allowed his body to go limp, as if he'd given up. He heard Darktail chuckle in triumph and that's when Icepaw surged upward, much like Darktail had done to him, and the brown tom landed on the ground hard. Icepaw was on him before he could get up, biting his shoulder and shaking his head violently. Darktail let out a yowl of terror, and Icepaw released him, and he watched in satisfaction as Darktail ran out of the camp.

A yowl from the Medicine Cat's den sent Icepaw dashing across the clearing, hoping that Jayfeather was all right. He watched as a flame colored streak moved through the ThunderClan warriors ahead of him. If Icepaw hadn't know better, he would have thought there was a fire in the camp. As the streak slowed, he recognized Blazepaw as his friend threw himself on Runningcloud. There were two more cats trying to get into the Medicine Cat den and Icepaw but on an extra burst of speed, putting himself in their path and snarling at them, "If you want to get in there, you'll have to go through me!"

"That can be arranged," Breezefoot snarled as she and Morningbreeze lunged at him.

Yowling out a ThunderClan battle cry, Icepaw met them head on. He felt Breezefoot's teeth sink into his shoulder, while he bit down on Morningbreeze's right hind leg, the she-cat screeching in pain as she tried to squirm away from him. Icepaw didn't let go though, even when Breezefoot gave him a rough shake, trying to get him to release Morningbreeze. Icepaw started to claw as best he could at Morningbreeze's flanks and he felt first fur, then blood as he managed to get several hits in. With one last screech of pain, Morningbreeze managed to tear her leg free from his jaws as she ran towards the entrance.

Breezefoot still had his shoulder, and she shoved him to the ground. Pinning him to the ground, she snarled at him before she bit down on his neck. He went limp after struggling a bit, and she fell for the trick just like Darktail had, but he wasn't able to pin her to the ground, the nimble she-cat getting to her paws easily.

"So you think you're clever?" Breezefoot taunted. "Then come at me traitor!"

Icepaw didn't leave her waiting, flinging himself at her, but she met him head on, and they rolled on the ground, each trying to get the upper paw. The second Icepaw thought he had her pinned, she'd find a way to squirm away from him.

Growling in frustration, Icepaw slashed at Breezefoot's face as the she-cat started to squirm away, and she hissed as his claws raked her left ear. With her not moving, Icepaw pinned her and started to batter her belly with his hind legs. Screeching in pain, but not giving up, she struggled against him. It wasn't until the note of panic entered her screech that he let her up. She fled the camp.

Hoping for a breather, Icepaw didn't get much of one as he had to quickly get out of the way of Moonpelt and Sunstrike still going at it.

About to get back in the fray, Icepaw felt his blood run cold as Thistlestar yowled, and fresh patrol of WindClan cats entered the clearing.

Steeling himself, Icepaw yowled a challenge, meeting the fresh warriors head on.


	21. Chapter 20

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. What can I say? I was on a roll the last couple nights! Only one more chapter!**_**

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><p><strong><strong>Chapter 20<strong>**

Blazepaw stood panting in the entrance of the Medicine Cat's den. The WindClan cats would get to their supplies over Blazepaw's dead body. His gaze was darting all over the camp, watching for any attackers. His heart sank as a fresh patrol charged into the camp.

Bracing himself, he wasn't surprised when three cats charged towards the den. One was intercepted by Icepaw, but the other two made it over, and Blazepaw charged out with a battle yowl. The pale gray she-cat and the tortoiseshell she-cat didn't waste any time, and Blazepaw had his paws full trying to deal with them both. Jayfeather helped him a bit, striking out from the entrance of the den with his claws.

The pale gray she-cat knocked his paws out from under him, and Blazepaw yowled in shock and then pain as she started to batter his stomach. He could see the tortoiseshell harassing Jayfeather, and he tried to knock the she-cat off, but she was too heavy. Without any warning she screeched in pain, and got off Blazepaw.

Scrambling to his paws, he saw what had made the she-cat let him go. Icepaw clung to the she-cat's back. Leaving Icepaw to deal with the pale gray she-cat, he charged the tortoiseshell, leaping on her back and grabbing her right ear in his jaws and yanking back hard. He tasted blood in his mouth, and the she-cat yowled in pain. Struggling to get Blazepaw off, she eventually fell over due to his weight. Getting off the she-cat, she ran towards the entrance to the camp, and Blazepaw gave her a couple good nips to remember him by. He watched as the pale gray she-cat followed her.

Blazepaw turned to Icepaw and he stared at his friend in horror. Icepaw's usually white and ginger fur was matted with blood, and Blazepaw couldn't tell how much was his and how much wasn't.

"You all right?" Icepaw asked. Blazepaw nodded dumbly, "Watch Jayfeather." He threw himself back into the fray, and as Blazepaw watched, he noticed that when the sun Icepaw's fur just right, he looked like a living flame. He wondered, _is Icepaw one of the three cats?!_

Before he could dwell more on his thoughts, he turned as he heard Thistlestar yowl, "WindClan! Retreat!"

The WindClan ran out through the entrance to camp, several ThunderClan cats, including Icepaw, hard on their paws.

Sighing in relief, he watched as Jayfeather trotted past him, already intent on helping his clan mates. "Blazepaw! Help me get the wounded cats to my den!"

Blazepaw did as the medicine cat asked, noticing right away that Ashfall was favoring his hind leg, "Come on! Jayfeather will want to look you over."

"No, I'm fine," Ashfall protested.

Blazepaw shoved him, and Ashfall hissed as he put weight on his injured hind leg, "Yeah, and I'm a fish!"

"I thought you looked different," Ashfall purred. At least the warrior hadn't lost his sense of humor. Blazepaw helped him over to the den, where Loudfang was already sitting next to.

Looking around, he trotted over to Cinderheart, who was grooming Icecloud, the queen had a nasty wound on the back of her neck, "What happened?!"

"I showed some WindClan cats not to mess with ThunderClan!" Icecloud stated. "They didn't know what hit them!"

The elder reassured Blazepaw, "I'll get her over to Jayfeather's den, she's not the worst off."

Knowing his mentor was right, he trotted briskly over to Sweetflower, who was nosing Tawnyclaw, trying to get her to her paws, "Come on! You can do it!"

"When I get that fleabag!" Tawnyclaw gasped in pain as she managed to get to her paws, Her front paw was at an awkward angle, and Blazepaw wondered if it was broken.

"I'll help you to Jayfeather's den," Blazepaw meowed, helping Sweetflower to guide the strong she-cat over there.

Looking around, he didn't notice any other cats that were injured, apart from Dawnstep, who was struggling against Jayfeather. Hurrying over, he caught her last words as she ran towards the entrance of the camp, "Hawkwing's hurt you stupid furball! Don't tell me to rest!"

"I'll get her!"Blazepaw called out to the furious medicine cat. Much to his surprise, Jayfeather bounded after him, his expression grim.

As they neared the cave entrance, Blazepaw heard Dawnstep's caterwaul before he came upon the scene. Sliding to a halt, his eyes wide with shock, Blazepaw gazed down at Hawkwing's body, his lips were still drawn back in a snarl, and his eyes were open, still showing the defiance he must have shown to the WindClan attackers. Dawnstep's caterwaul changed into a heartbroken wail, and his heart twisted in pity for the soon-to-be queen. She and Hawkwing had had a whole life ahead of them, and now the kits would never get to know their father or what a great warrior he was.

Jayfeather started to nudge Blazepaw away, "Let her grieve. There's nothing we can do right now, and the clan must be informed…"

Nodding, Blazepaw let Jayfeather lead him towards the camp entrance, and he watched as the cats that had chased WindClan returned, Moonpelt leading the way, followed closely by Icepaw, Bumblestripe, Rosepetal, Honeypaw, and Larkpaw.

His heart sank even lower. _How am I supposed to tell Icepaw that he's lost another mentor?_ Blazepaw heard the words of Leafpool echoing in his head, understanding them now, _"Be wary of the wind, Blazepaw, for though it has its gentle breezes, its gusts know no mercy."_ This last attack had been utterly ruthless, and they'd lost a valuable warrior, but the blow went deeper than that, the grief that would affect the clan would weaken it even more.

Entering the camp behind Jayfeather, he heard the yowls of triumph from the clan as Moonpelt finished announcing that WindClan had truly left their territory.

Spotting his father's reddish tabby fur heading towards the path up to Highledge, he turned to Jayfeather to point him out, only to find the blind medicine cat already halfway over there. He watched as Jayfeather spoke quietly to Foxstar, the ThunderClan leader's eyes first filling with sorrow, but the sorrow was quickly replaced with rage. He climbed up to Highledge once Jayfeather had finished speaking with him.

"WindClan won't be showing their faces around here anytime soon!"

Blazepaw turned as he heard Icepaw's voice beside him. Relief surged through him. Though Icepaw did have several wounds, none of them were too severe. At least not they didn't look severe to his untrained eyes, his relief was replaced with worry though, recalling the news his friend would soon be receiving, "That's good…" He couldn't make his voice sound happy.

"What's wrong?" Icepaw asked, his friend's eyes shining with worry.

Before he could say anything, Foxstar yowled, drawing the clan's attention, "Today, we celebrate a great victory, but also a great loss."

The clan started to murmur to each other, and Blazepaw heard some cats ask, "Where is Hawkwing? Has anyone seen him? What about Dawnstep?!"

"It is with great sorrow that I tell you that Hawkwing was killed today, fighting them at the tunnel entrance, but they overwhelmed him…" Foxstar lowered his head, his grief evident. The clan wailed their grief to the skies, and Blazepaw also heard notes of fear.

_What is he doing? He's our leader! He should be staying strong!_ Blazepaw couldn't believe the cat on Highledge was his father, the cat he had always admired and strived to be like. He gazed worriedly at Icepaw, who stood beside him, eyes wide in shock, but he didn't cry out or voice his sorrows, just stood there, still as stone.

Taking a deep breath, Foxstar lifted his head, and Blazepaw looked away from his friend, "We all mourn the loss of Hawkwing who was a respected and loyal warrior." Foxstar stood up taller, "But there is a happier task that I must do before we bring Hawkwing's body into the camp so that we can sit vigil for him." His father's gaze rested on him, "Blazepaw…it is time you received your warrior name."

Stunned, Blazepaw looked at Icepaw in shock, "Did he say me?!"

Icepaw nodded, though Blazepaw wasn't sure how reliable that nod was, considering Icepaw still had a shocked look on his face. Stepping forward, he stood just below Highledge, gazing up at his father. Foxstar glanced at Rosepetal, "Do you feel that your apprentice is ready to become a warrior?"

"There is nothing more that he can learn from me," Rosepetal meowed confidently, her eyes shining with pride.

Foxstar raised his gaze to the first stars of Silverpelt that had begun to appear, "I, Foxstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend him to you as a warrior." He gazed down at Blazepaw, "Blazepaw, do you promise to protect and defend this Clan even at the cost of your life?"

Blazepaw, still felt awkward to be the only apprentice being made a warrior, especially with how Icepaw had fought so hard, but he said solemnly, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Blazepaw, from this moment onward you will be known as Blazefoot. StarClan honors your kindness and forethought, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Foxstar leapt down and rested his muzzle on top of Blazefoot's bowed head. Blazefoot bent his head lower and licked Foxstar's shoulder respectfully before he straightened up and padded towards the warriors.

He turned as the first voice he heard wasn't any of the ThunderClan cats, but Icepaw, "Blazefoot!" Smiling, he listened as the others called out his warrior name.

"Tonight, while the rest of us sleep, you saw sit vigil in silence. Before then, get something to eat," Foxstar meowed.

Nodding, Blazefoot turned as Icepaw padded towards him, "Congratulations!"

His guilt returned, "You should be a warrior with me."

"I haven't been a ThunderClan apprentice as long as you have," Icepaw meowed. "I don't expect to be made a warrior anytime soon."

Before Blazefoot could argue with Icepaw, Ashfall, Loudfang, Rosepetal, and Icecloud crowded around him to give their congratulations, and Blazefoot just caught a glimpse of Icepaw heading out of the camp.

"Way to go!" Ashfall purred.

Loudfang meowed, "I knew it wouldn't be long!"

"I knew you'd be made a warrior!" Rosepetal purred. "You were doing great in your training!"

It was Icecloud's words that struck him the most, "Your mother would be very proud of you."

A lump frowned in his throat, and Blazefoot meowed, "I'd best go help bring in Hawkwing's body!" He quickly headed over to Moonpelt, who was saying, "Bumblestripe, Larkpaw, and…" He spotted Blazefoot, "Blazefoot. Come with me." Following the deputy, he stepped aside as Icepaw led a trembling Dawnstep back into the camp, the usually fierce she-cat looked like so frail, and Blazefoot hated seeing her look so distraught.

Exiting the camp and walking to the tunnel entrance, Larkpaw squeaked in shocked horror as they reached Hawkwing's body. No one scolded the apprentice, since it was a natural response to seeing a dead cat, especially if it was the first time she'd seen one.

Moonpelt walked forward and gently closed Hawkwing's eyes with his forepaw, and he moved his lips down to cover his bared teeth.

Fighting the lump in his throat still, Blazefoot helped to take Hawkwing's body into the camp, where they gently set it down in the clearing.

He wasn't surprised when the first two cats to come forward were Dawnstep and Icepaw.

His heart breaking for the two cats, he watched as the all the cats of the clan either touched their noses to the dead warrior's fur, or started to groom it, sharing tongues with him one last time.

When all the other cats had stepped forward, Blazefoot walked forward, pressing his nose against Hawkwing's fur, and brushing his own fur comfortingly against Icepaw's fur. _Your death is a terrible blow to the clan. You will be sorely missed by all of, Hawkwing…may StarClan light your path._ Sitting up, he gazed down at Icepaw and Dawnstep. He tried to reassure himself that they were both strong cats that would recover as he walked over to the scattered fresh-kill pile, grabbing a mouse, and settling down outside the warriors' den to eat it.

Blazefoot watched as Jayfeather walked towards the two grieving cats, gently nosing them to their paws and leading them over to his den so that he could treat their wounds. As he watched them walk, he truly worried about them both, Icepaw and Dawnstep's gazeswere both filled with sorrow, and their eyes were dull with grief and loss.

_If they don't recover from this loss…ThunderClan will be in great danger!_ Blazefoot tried to push the dark thoughts out of his mind. Of course Dawnstep and Icepaw would recover. It was natural for them to be so down-hearted after losing Hawkwing so suddenly, especially since both cats had experienced the loss of clan mates and friends before.

_They'll be fine,_ Blazefoot repeated to himself, as he finished his mouse and walked towards the camp entrance to start his vigil, the sun starting to set.


	22. Epilogue

**_**I do not own Warriors or any of the original characters from Warriors, I simply own the ones not in the original series. What can I say? I was on a roll the last couple nights! Last chapter!**_**

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><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

A ginger tom twitched in his sleep, his eyelids fluttering every now and then, and his mouth moving as if he were eating some prey, or perhaps talking. There was a reason for this though, as the cat dreamed, and not just an ordinary dream either.

Looking around the familiar territory, the ginger tom turned as a small light brown tabby with white markings approached him.

"Littlecloud," the ginger tom greeted the cat, dipping his head in respect.

The other cat returned his greeting, "Flametail."

"What brings you here tonight?" Flametail asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly," Littlecloud mewed, not meeting Flametail's gaze.

Flametail's eyes narrowed, "What's wrong?"

"Come with me," Littlecloud meowed, leading the way into the camp, and passing by the cat guarding the camp. He trotted confidently towards a bush, and pushed his way in.

Flametail frowned as he gazed at the two queens, "Is something wrong with them? What about the kits?" He stared at a black kit before purring, "I see Darkpoppy had her kit without bothering to wake me!"

"She's had many kits," Littlecloud murmured. "But this kit's destiny is to be great." He turned an intense gaze on Flametail, "You must make sure this kit remains in ShadowClan!"

Taken aback by Littlecloud's tone, Flametail demanded, "Why would this kit leave ShadowClan?!"

"This kit has a great destiny, but where he will achieve it depends entirely on ShadowClan and how they treat him and his family!" Littlecloud stated. "You must make sure he doesn't leave the clan! He could do great things for ShadowClan!"

"And if he leaves?" Flametail questioned.

Littlecloud shook his head, "Another clan will benefit from his great destiny."

Flametail gazed at the black kit, "I'll do my best. But this kit already has his bloodlines working against him."

"I know," Littlecloud sighed. "But technically, so does your leader, and Tigerstar."

"Not me?" Flametail's tone was teasing.

"You are a special case! Only one other cat has had the chance you've had," Littlecloud purred. "And she is a special cat, just like you."

Flametail rolled his eyes, "I'm not that special."

Purring Littlecloud's voice became serious once more, "Do your best to help him, Flametail. ShadowClan cannot afford to lose a cat such as him."

Looking at the kit once more, Flametail nodded, "I will check on him once I wake up."

"Do that," Littlecloud meowed, his form starting to fade.

Flametail awoke with a start. Getting up, he headed towards the Nursery, the first rays of dawn starting to creep into the sky.

As he entered, the dark brown she-cat with the black kit lifted her head. Yawning, she said, smugly, "You see? No problems!"

"I'm glad," Flametail purred. He sniffed the black kit over, "Have you given him a name?"

"Blackkit," the she-cat purred, licking the top of her son's head.

Flametail nodded in approval of the name, "He'll be a great asset to ShadowClan."

The queen nodded, "Indeed he will."

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><p><strong><em>Don't fret everyone! This is just the end to The Wind's Fury! Keep your eyes open Warriors: Rise of ThunderClan: The River's Treachery! Thank you to all of you who have read this, reviewed, followed, etc. It made my muse extremely happy! ^^ I can't say when the first chapter of the next one will be out, but like I said, keep your eyes open for it!<em>**


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